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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24947428">Only Light and Hope Together Can Defeat Darkness</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamyemptysouls/pseuds/dreamyemptysouls'>dreamyemptysouls</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Dark Ocean, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Horrible writing from when I was 14???, Horror, Lots and lots of sappy stuff, Mild Sexual Content, Multi, Psychological Horror, Slow Romance, Survival Horror</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 08:33:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>54,104</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24947428</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamyemptysouls/pseuds/dreamyemptysouls</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Five years after their last battle, the Dark Ocean calls for Kari again. She tries her best to resist, but the calling gets worse and more desperate, and she decides to end the problem once and for all, this time, with the help of her best friend Takeru Takaishi. But they seem to get into a hopeless situation, and only by using the powerful crests they carry for ten years they can find a way out.</p>
<p>[Transferred from FF.net - started in 2006, promised to finish it now!]</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ichijouji Ken/Motomiya Daisuke | Davis Motomiya, Ishida Yamato | Matt Ishida/Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya, Izumi Koushirou | Izzy Izumi/Tachikawa Mimi, Takaishi Takeru | T.K. Takaishi/Yagami Hikari | Kari Kamiya</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. THE NIGHTMARE</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hello everyone!!</p>
<p>14 years ago i started writing a long fic for my favourite digimon pairing. i was just learning better english and i wanted it to focus on the lore of the Dark Ocean, have slow burn elements, and focus on the best friends to lovers dynamic. i had it all planned and i chipped away at it for many years, before stopping at chapter 15 due to many complications with my mental health and my life direction</p>
<p>recently, now in a much better place despite the ongoing world crises, i have picked up digimon with my partner back up and promised to finish this fic!</p>
<p>the first chapters, originally written between 2006 and 2011, are here posted exactly as they were, and i want to work on some illustrations too to add on later</p>
<p>chapter 16 and onwards are new!!</p>
<p>enjoy, pardon my younger self's poor english and the secondhand embarrassment from some of the comments, and here's to finishing this!</p>
<p>[chapter 1 was originally posted on april 2006, had no beginning notes]</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>CHAPTER 1</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>THE NIGHTMARE</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I know you're still there</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Watching me, wanting me<br/>I can feel you pull me down<br/>Fearing you, loving you<br/>I won't let you pull me down</em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>She was running, running, running. She didn't know exactly why, but she knew that something terrible would happen if she stopped. Everything around her was pitch-black, but she knew that she would be safe if she kept heading forward. Her heart was beating too fast, and she could hear a terrible voice calling her name…</p>
<p>"<em>Hikari…"</em></p>
<p>Suddenly, everything around her changed and she saw terrible things, things a young woman her age shouldn't see, things that made her hold a scream up her throat… First, she saw Gatomon, her Digimon and best friend… She was dead, beheaded, her lifeless feline form covered with blood and tentacle marks. She tried to scream, but she wasn't able to… Tears started to fall from her eyes, and she ran towards her digi-partner. What had happened? Who did that to her? She barely knew things were getting worse…</p>
<p>When she stretched out her hand to touch her friend, the image changed, and Kari's heart sank when she saw her dead brother instead…</p>
<p>"No, Tai, this can't be happening… Who did this to you? Can this get any worse! Please, make this end…" the girl whispered, more tears falling.</p>
<p>And things actually got worse… Kari thought the pain couldn't get any bigger, but she really felt the world around her scatter to pieces when she saw the last image.</p>
<p>"No… Takeru…"</p>
<p>She touched his best friend's cheek, her hands trembling terribly. Who had caused all that pain to her? For what reason? His usual warm face was death-cold, his beautiful blue eyes were lifeless, they weren't shining anymore, they had the deepest of fear inside them…</p>
<p>"<em>Hikari…"</em></p>
<p>Kari couldn't take it anymore, it was too much for her fragile young heart. But there wasn't much she could do… The next thing she knew, she found herself cornered inside a dark room, with no windows and no doors… and blood started flooding the place.</p>
<p>She panicked, but her screams only seemed to increase the blood flow. She quickly found herself totally submerged in that horrible liquid, feeling its dreadful flavor in her mouth, and she waved her arms around in search for air, or she would certainly drown…</p>
<p>Then she felt something grabbing her ankle, holding her down, and she desperately tried to free from its grip.</p>
<p><em>Let me go, what do you want from me? I want to go home, please, let me go home!</em>, her mind screamed.</p>
<p>But she knew that none of her prayers would be answered, and she'd be irrefutably taken by darkness to a place she had feared for some time now. This time, there was no hope for Hikari Yagami Kamyia…</p>
<p>"Come on, Kari! Don't make me get inside! If we get late again we'll both have detention with dear Mr. Myiamoto!" the most relieving familiar voice said, while seeming to be breaking the front door down.</p>
<p>And a startled Kari sat up on her bed. Thank God it had only been a dream, a really bad dream…</p>
<p>She did nothing else: she got out of bed with a jump and ran towards the front door, opening it enthusiastically.</p>
<p>She had seen that boy so many times in her life, but none of them had been as relieving as that one, and Kari was staring at T.K. with a dreamily look on her face.</p>
<p>"Finally! I thought I had to…"</p>
<p>But he was interrupted when Kari embraced him in a massive bear hug. Still recovering from the shock, the boy said with a smile: "Whoa, I missed you too, but aren't you overreacting a bit?"</p>
<p>At first, she didn't hear him. She was more interested in hearing the regular beating of his heart, interested in feeling the welcoming warmth of his arms. She was so happy he was still there…</p>
<p>"I'm just happy to see you," Kari answered, finally releasing him.</p>
<p>They just stood there looking at each other when Takeru noticed something.</p>
<p>"You're still on your pajamas? Are you aware that unless we get to school in five minutes we'll spend the time we're supposed to use at the movies inside a detention room? Come on!"</p>
<p>Hikari knew her best friend wasn't mad at her, it was just his way to tell her that he had spent a whole afternoon to get that damn tickets and he wasn't willing send all that effort to waste. He tried his best to get his hands on "Friends, the Movie" tickets as soon he heard she was excited about the film. Takeru just did these nice things…</p>
<p>She invited him in, while she went to her bedroom to get dressed as soon as possible. Takeru sat comfortably on the couch and asked his friend through the wall that separated them: "So, what happened for you to hug me like that? I feel like you haven't told me everything about it…"</p>
<p>He could feel Kari's uneasiness through her voice.</p>
<p>"Huh, well… I kind of… had another of those nightmares…" she answered reluctantly.</p>
<p>Takeru got worried at the sentence.</p>
<p>"You sure you're alright? I mean, it's the third one you have this week. I'm starting to get worried about it".</p>
<p>"Oh, it's nothing, really… I mean, me being the bearer of Light and everything. It's normal to have these problems with darkness…"</p>
<p>But Takeru could tell she was lying. "Kari, you know you can tell me everything. I'll be there for you…"</p>
<p>"… Like you've been there before. Yeah, I know, T.K… But you don't need to worry, seriously… I'm fine".</p>
<p>"I sure hope so. I'm not very fond about this whole situation… I hope this ends soon".</p>
<p>"And so do I," Kari answered as she exited her bedroom to the living room. Takeru stared at her from the couch and noticed something was not right… He got up and walked to her. However, he just needed to arrange her shirt's neckband to make things perfect.</p>
<p>With a smile, he took something off his pocket and gave it to her.</p>
<p>"I guessed you'd oversleep, so I brought you breakfast. It's your favorite!"</p>
<p>She unwrapped the small package and took a bite from the delicious sandwich with tinned sardines, lettuce, boiled egg and tomato that laid inside. She couldn't help but smile.</p>
<p>"Thank you, T.K.! Have I told you you're my hero?" Hikari asked with a grin, while they started heading to school, at last.</p>
<p>"A couple of times this week. But, of course, I don't mind it. You can just pay me a milk shake later".</p>
<p>Kari didn't know what the hell she did to deserve such a perfect best friend. While they were running to school with the few minutes they had left, she reminded how she got to where she was now…</p>
<p>She had met him when they were eight, when the first group of digi-destined was after the eighth child, which happened to be her. Kari knew T.K. was happy about finally having someone to talk to, and they became the best of friends during their first adventure. She remembered when he looked after her when she got sick, she remembered when they had to defeat Piedmon all by themselves. They shared all their dreams and fears to each other, and helped their brothers to get along better. Now, Tai and Matt were the best friends because of them.</p>
<p>People thought that the three years that they spent without seeing each other would erase Takeru and Hikari's deep friendship, but it just seemed to help it get bigger. They would write to each other all the time, confessing their deepest secrets, searching for a refuge in the other. Kari often wrote him about her old neighbor that used to insult her mother when she was babysitting her. Takeru usually wrote her about the problems he had due to his parents' divorce. They hadn't seen each other for those three years, but their hearts were always somehow linked.</p>
<p>But their friendship only reached the level it had now when the Takaishis moved to Odaiba, near the Kamyias, and the two best friends started to attend the same school.</p>
<p>They couldn't believe how much they had grown up, and they wasted no time, compensating all the time they had been absent. And Hikari found herself swearing eternal friendship to this new Takeru Takaishi.</p>
<p>Already 11 years old, he had grown up to be a terribly handsome golden-blond-haired, sapphire-blue-eyed boy. The star basketball player. The one all the cheerleaders wished to have by their side. But his personality never changed. He continued to be the sweetest person on Earth, the kind of boy that would give his right arm for a friend, that will always try his best to please everyone. No that he needed that much effort. People seemed to fall in love with him by just speaking to him.</p>
<p>But Kari wasn't that bad either. She was now a beautiful, tall, slender, chocolate-brown-haired, crimson-eyed girl that seemed to attract most of guys' attention. She was always quite energetic and funny, caring, brave and reliable, a completely normal girl. Maybe that was why such a perfect friendship brewed between an extraordinary boy and a perfectly normal girl.</p>
<p>The time they spent together in and out the Digimon World on their second adventure only brought them closer. She found in him a shoulder to cry on whenever she needed, someone who always knew what to say in each situation, or when to be quiet and leave. She couldn't tell how many times she would owe him the world just for holding her tight and saying that everything would be fine. But she also got the happiest when he was there, greeting her with a warm smile, whenever she did something right. They went through a lot together, and the bond that linked them was an unbreakable one.</p>
<p>Now, five years had passed since they fought their last digi-battle, and being two 18-year-olds, they decided to move out and live in another part of Tokyo, where they still attended the same school. It was Takeru's decision to leave Odaiba, but since Kari promised she would follow him to the end of the world, she also bought an apartment right in front of his and they spent those next years all by themselves.</p>
<p>They often asked themselves why they had become such good friends. In the end, they knew it had to be because of their crests, the crests of Hope and Light. They were frequently told that Hope and Light completed each other, and together they'd be the greatest power of them all. Probably that was why they still wore those crests as necklaces after ten years: as a sign of their friendship.</p>
<p>With 18 years old, the handsome Takeru only seemed to grow even more handsome and gentle, the young man that owned all the young women's hearts at school. Kari wasn't oblivious to that, as she usually found herself lost in T.K.'s blue eyes and melting under his splendorous smile. For some time now, Kari knew she felt more then just friendship towards Takeru, but she didn't spend much time thinking about it, as she was certain he would never feel about her that way, despite all the warmth and care of his gestures. She'd rather have Takeru Takaishi as her best friend than having no Takeru Takaishi at all. He had done so much for her and she didn't want to hurt him.</p>
<p><em>Than you shouldn't lie to him like you did before</em>, a small voice inside her head said. <em>You know something is going wrong with you and he was just trying to help you.</em></p>
<p>And that was the plain truth. Hikari had been having terrible nightmares lately, and she had been feeling someone calling for her… from another dimension. However, she was convinced it would end soon, so she didn't want to bother his brother Tai (who was spending some wonderful vacations with T.K.'s brother Matt and their best friend Sora in Hawaii) and she definitely didn't want to overload Takeru with her stupid problems. But experience along with that last nightmare told her that this problem was far from its ending, and things would still get a lot worse before they got better…</p>
<p>By the time she made herself stop thinking about it, the two best friends had arrived school, panting heavily from the run. But, miraculously, they arrived just in time.</p>
<p>Before they passed the doorway, Takeru turned to Hikari and said with a grin: "Well, since you overslept, I reckon you won't fall asleep during History".</p>
<p>Kari couldn't help but smile too. After all, Takeru's joy was contagious.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. HORROR MOVIES AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>[original notes, may 2006]</p><p>I'm back! First of all, I want to thank my reviewers JyouraKoumi, Lord Pata (it's a great honor for me to having you reviewing one of my fics, since I always loved yours! I'm glad you like it! I'm sorry this fic doesn't have PataGato, but I'm also a huge fan of it! Maybe my next fic will have it…), kingdom219, Private K (I'm glad you liked it!) and MellyRox (that's good! I didn't know I was good at writing scary scenes). I hope you didn't have to wait much for this… Please, review! On with the fic!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>CHAPTER 2<br/></strong>
  <strong>HORROR MOVIES AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES</strong>
</p><p>Like what happened everyday after school, Takeru and Hikari went to the coffee house near their apartments for a milk shake. Just like they decided before, Kari paid for both drinks. But there was no real need in it, Takeru was already very happy with her "thank you".</p><p>Yes, because he'd do anything for her, especially in those last few days…</p><p>It was true T.K. had fallen in love with Kari when he was only eight, but he only noticed the dimension of his feelings later, when he saw her again after three years. Maybe it was because of her beautiful crimson eyes, that seemed to hypnotize him, or her caring nature, always noticing when he was upset and always holding his hand tight to make him feel better, but he was certain it had been because she was the only one he opened to (well, with the obvious exception of Patamon, of course) when his parents got divorced. It didn't really matter how bad his life was (and believe me, Takeru's life was anything but a sea of roses): when he was with her, every moment seemed to be perfect.</p><p>With her by his side and her light to scare the darkness in his life, T.K.'s felt the happiest, he felt he owed every happy moment he had to her, and tried his best to make her feel happy too, even if it meant he had to hide his true feelings.</p><p>When Takeru was around Kari, the world seemed to become brighter, a golden aura seemed to emanate from her, his heart started to thump hard and he couldn't erase a smile from his face. He usually lost his defenses to the beauty of her smile or the gentleness of her gestures. Takeru had suffered a lot in the last few years, but Hikari had sent all the grief away. All that was left were happy moments, friendly moments, loving moments between them. Moments that would always be engraved in his memory and he would always hold dearly in his heart. But Takeru knew he could never tell her that, and it was the only secret he kept from her (if we assume that love can be kept a secret). After all, she had done so much for him… What more could he wish for? He would rather have Hikari Kamiya as his best friend than not having Hikari Kamyia at all…</p><p>However, he knew that something wasn't right lately, and even though Kari was always telling everything was fine, he could see in her eyes that she was lying. Takeru truly hoped for everything to end, but something told him it wasn't going to be that simple. This time, he would be the one helping Kari…</p><p>It hurt him more than anything to see his heroine suffer, even if it was just by nightmares. He knew the danger she was in just for being the Child of Light, and he also knew that Darkness would try anything to get its hands on her. She had been pale and more distant. He knew something was going on, and he had to act soon… Kari's life, and his life too (as he couldn't certainly recover from the loss of her), depended on it…</p><p>And he noticed she wasn't drinking her chocolate milk shake right then, Hikari Kamyia, the number one fan of chocolate. Looking in her eyes, he could painfully see that she was suffering. Not taking it anymore, he held her hand and asked with a worried tone: "Kari, you sure you're okay? You haven't touched your milk shake!"</p><p>Hikari's eyes connected with his, and noticing pure concern in them, she wasn't able to lie to him. "Well, I just felt a bit dizzy before… I'll be just fine…"</p><p>"Again, Hikari! You've said that a million times this week, and it's getting worse! Please, Kari, tell me what's going on…"</p><p>Kari sure didn't want to worry him, but looking inside his eyes, she knew he was already worried about her and she knew she couldn't get away that time. Besides, he had been always there for her, maybe he could actually help her…</p><p>So, she held his both big hands in her small ones and said caringly: "Look T.K., I'll tell you about it, but not here. I think it's not safe…"</p><p>Happy with finally being able to open her up, Takeru found himself smiling.</p><p>"Okay, then come to my place this night. We'll watch 'The Ring II' this time. Then, you won't have no other option but tell me what's happening!"</p><p>Hikari also smiled and nodded. When she was with T.K., darkness could never get to her. But she was trying to find a way not to tell him the <em>whole</em> truth…</p><p>Sitting in front of the computer screen, Takeru had to do something before Kari's arrival, which should be about to happen. He knew she was only trying not to worry him, but by hiding the truth from him, she only seemed to aggravate his worry. He knew Hikari well enough to see when that happened. So, he decided to contact Gennai from the Digital World, and make sure her problems didn't come from there.</p><p>It had passed so much time since the last time he had done it that he had almost forgotten how to do it… But he managed to arrange a connection to the place that changed his life in so many ways and saw Gennai's face on the screen.</p><p>"Hello, Takeru! Long time no see! What can I do for you? Is it everything alright?"</p><p>"Hi, Gennai, it's good to see you too! Everything's fine here, I just need to speak to Patamon. Is he there?"</p><p>"Yes, I think I've seen something orange some minutes ago… Just wait a moment…"</p><p>And it was really all that it took to find T.K.'s best buddy in the world. The next thing Takeru knew, he was watching Patamon's cute face on the computer screen.</p><p>"Hi, T.K.! I haven't seen you in a while! I kinda missed you… Everything okay?" the little orange creature asked.</p><p>"Hello, little buddy! Missed ya too… Well, actually, that was what I was going to ask… Everything okay there in the Digiworld?"</p><p>"What do you mean? Darkness was defeated five years ago, you were there. It won't come back that easily… Why are you asking?"</p><p>"Is it Gatomon there? She will probably want to know about this too…"</p><p>"I'm right here," the cat-like Digimon said, coming next to Patamon. "Is it something wrong about Kari?"</p><p>"I'm afraid so… She's been acting weird, having nightmares, and I think something's going on…" Takeru explained.</p><p>"Well, everything's fine here, so I guess it doesn't have to do with it… Do you have any other suspicions?" Patamon asked.</p><p>"I do have them," T.K. started, "but maybe I'm just overreacting and I don't really want to talk about it…"</p><p>"What is it, T.K.?" Gatomon asked. "It might help us".</p><p>The two Digi-friends could feel the uneasiness within Takeru's gestures. Whatever he was going to say, it wasn't going to be good…</p><p>"Well, I know it's just silly to say this, but I have this bad feeling that this whole thing is related to the Dark Ocean… Is there any way to prove me wrong, or is it too stupid even to think about? I mean, it's just a theory, maybe she's perfectly fine and I'm just making a storm in a teacup…"</p><p>But the feline Digimon interrupted him.</p><p>"No, stop it… We can't communicate with the Dark Ocean since BlackWarGreymon has sealed it, but that doesn't mean it can't happen the other way round. Darkness always finds a way to come back. If that is happening right now, Kari's Light will have to find a way to prevail again. That's the way everything works. And maybe you're right: maybe Kari's just stressed because exams and all. But you both must be prepared for the worst, if it comes, and if this is all about the Dark Ocean, that must be your first priority. Keep an eye on Kari."</p><p>"You know I will, I always have. I just wanted to know what you guys thought… Well, Kari must be arriving soon, we're going to watch a movie, so I have to go. I'll keep you posted, okay? I hope to hear from ya soon… Goodbye!"</p><p>"Bye, T.K., and don't worry too much! Everything will turn out fine!" Patamon reassuringly said.</p><p>"Yeah," Gatomon added. "Some days from now, you'll be laughing at all this incident! Bye, and send greetings to Kari!"</p><p>"Consider them sent! Bye, everyone! Thanks for everything, Gennai!"</p><p>"You're welcome! Good-luck, Takeru!"</p><p>And the Child of Hope turned off the computer on the exact moment when the bell rang. He smiled nervously. After all, Kari was going to tell him what was happening and maybe all his worries would be lessened…</p><p>"Eek! I hate how they look when Samara kills them! Couldn't she be a little less… brutal?" Kari muttered while hiding her head on Takeru's chest.</p><p>They were already in the middle of the movie and even though they had seen it a million times, Hikari still startled whenever someone got killed, especially because of T.K.'s great Home Cinema equipment. So, during those horror movies, Kari always held on tight to Takeru while they were both sitting on the comfy couch, and the blonde only laughed at his best friend's behavior.</p><p>"You know, Kari, after watching this movie so many times, you shouldn't be so scared… I mean, you've faced so many monsters on the Digital World!"</p><p>"Hey, don't start with it!" Hikari mumbled, still buried on Takeru's shirt. "I'm not the one who had to sleep on my best friend's couch because I was afraid that Samara would come out from my plasma screen!"</p><p>T.K. couldn't find an answer to that.</p><p>"Okay, you win. You can look now, the ugly face has already gone."</p><p>"Really?"</p><p>Kari lifted her head a little, only to catch a terrible glimpse of a dead man inside a car with a horrible face. Hikari just screamed, buried her head again and punched her friend slightly while heard him laugh out loud.</p><p>"Oops, I guess I was wrong…" he said playfully.</p><p>"You're going to pay for this, Takaishi!" she threatened.</p><p>"I'm sure will, Hikari," the young man retorted sarcastically. "I guess you've forgotten that I have nerves of steel."</p><p>"We'll know about that later…"</p><p>And the rest of the movie went on soothingly, Kari still holding a hard grip on T.K.'s chest, Takeru still laughing at Hikari's occasional shrieks.</p><p>Both enjoyed their proximity and they didn't move from that position, not even when the film ended and Takeru played a funny and old episode from "Friends", just to relax from the horror movie. While laughing at the characters' adventures, Takeru brought up the question from before.</p><p>"Now, are you telling me what's going on?" he asked.</p><p>Kari tried to change the subject, as she was hoping he would forget about it. But how could her fragile hope compete with the one within the Child of Hope?</p><p>"Look, this is the part when Joey…"</p><p>"Kari, you're derailing. I asked you what was going on."</p><p>Accepting defeat, Hikari sighed deeply and answered in a whisper, resting her head on Takeru's shoulder.</p><p>"I think I'm going crazy…"</p><p>"Well, tell me something I don't know yet".</p><p>"I'm not joking! I've been having strange nightmares and, lately, I've been having visions. Terrible visions. I don't know who causes them, but I know, whoever they are, they need my help… desperately…"</p><p>Takeru looked at her, worried. Was his fear for the Dark Ocean becoming real? Maybe it wasn't that much of a good idea to watch a horror movie… However, Kari saw his worry and rushed to fix things. She <em>didn't want </em>to tell him the whole truth.</p><p>"But the calling seems to be fading. I have the feeling that whatever it was, it has found help from somebody else. The worse has already passed, you don't need to worry."</p><p>But T.K. didn't seem very convinced, and that was crystal-clear due to the expression on his face. Hikari sighed again.</p><p>"T.K., I know it looks like I'm fooling you, but I'm not. I might be crazy, but I'm not stupid. If it were something bad, I would ask for your help. But it isn't. You don't need to worry about me!"</p><p>"You know, Kari, past situations make me disagree with what you said. But you know what? I'll trust you. If you say I've got nothing to worry about, I won't worry. After all, you would tell me if something was going on, isn't that so?" the Child of Hope asked, sarcastically.</p><p>But Hikari already knew that trick of his. And she also knew that she always gave in when he used it. However, that time, she had to be strong… That time, darkness was hitting her hard, and she didn't want to involve him in it… <em>I'm sorry, Takeru…, </em>she thought, <em>I know your intentions are the best, but I can't take this risk…</em></p><p>Somehow, she maintained her composure and Takeru seemed quite surprised at it.</p><p>"Okay, you're acting difficult. I won't insist. I hope everything is alright, I really do. But if it isn't, you can't make me stop worrying about you, or prevent me from come to your help, even if I have to enter the nightmare you're living (A/N: this sentence is actually from "The Ring II"). I'll drop it for now, this is my favorite part of the episode."</p><p>Hikari appreciated Takeru's attitude, even if it meant he would be mad at her. <em>One day we'll be laughing at this, </em>she thought hopefully.</p><p>The rest of the time passed normally, with no incidents. Even though the episode was one of the funniest, Kari didn't let T.K.'s arm go, she actually enjoyed a bit too much that proximity. But T.K. didn't seem to worry… As long as she was happy, he would be happy.</p><p>However, time went by too quickly for the two best friends and before they knew it, the episode was already over… Hikari reluctantly moved from her comfy position and was only able to move towards the door with Takeru's help. Then, he opened the door and led her outside gently. They say good-bye with a small yet loving hug. The kind of hug that makes you wish for time to stop. And T.K. whispered smoothly on Hikari's ear: "If you get scared, just give me a ring."</p><p>She just looked deeply at his eyes and, after giving him a serious look, melted under his warm smile and let go a laugh.</p><p>"Good-night, Takeru," she said.</p><p>He waved her good-bye and watched her until she reached her own apartment right across the hall and entered it, also waving good-bye. Both of them slept peacefully.</p><p>The next morning, Kari got ready faster and rang T.K.'s bell just in time. The young man answered the door with his usual smile and bright aura. Hikari wondered how someone could look that fresh knowing it would go to school in less than one hour. She guessed it was just the way Takeru was…</p><p>"Just wait a second, Kari. I'm going to get my backpack and my hat and we can go."</p><p>She nodded and sat on the same comfortable couch from the previous day, waiting for T.K.'s return. But something strange happened…</p><p>Suddenly, everything around her lost its color: the covers from the DVD's in front of her, the photos of her and Takeru that were all over the place and even her clothes turned black and white. But looking carefully at her clothes and body, Kari discovered something even scarier: deep cuts started to appear on her arms, as if an invisible knife was making them. Small drops of blood started to drip from them.</p><p>Then, all the doors, one by one, slammed abruptly, cornering her in that horrible environment, and great waterfalls of blood began to fall from the walls, flooding the living room. Hikari, who had jumped from the couch, hopelessly thought it couldn't get worse, but she was wrong… She felt paralyzed, she was unable even to scream, when she saw those images appearing on Takeru's plasma screen. It was a sequence of images quite similar to the ones from "The Ring", but at the moment, they seemed a million times scarier. They changed quickly. First, she saw a huge lighthouse that shone dark light. The image changed to an even more terrible one: an ocean of blood. Then, a grey, grim sandy beach appeared followed by an image of a semi-destroyed village…</p><p>Kari felt petrified. All those images… they seemed so familiar… She couldn't move from the spot, she felt the blood level rising, but there was nothing she could do… She felt hopeless…</p><p>One last image appeared on the screen. It was a dark creature, it seemed to be no more solid than a shadow and it had red shiny eyes. From inside the plasma screen, the creature moved forward, towards Hikari, calling her name in a desperate tone…</p><p>
  <em>Hikari…</em>
</p><p>Her heart was beating madly, she knew it was the end, that it was <em>not</em> a nightmare… The creature was going to take her, and was nothing she could do to stop it. She could already see the shadow going through the screen to grab her…</p><p>But her hero arrived just in time. The next thing she knew, the door to Takeru's bedroom was open, and everything had returned to normal, except for her terrified look. Fortunately, she had the presence of mind to hide her cuts.</p><p>T.K., who was ready to go, noticed her pale and distant face, and knew immediately that <em>something</em>had happened. The problem is, he didn't know how serious it was. So, he just asked: "You okay, Kari? You look a little pale…"</p><p>And Kari easily dodged that one.</p><p>"Yeah, I was just thinking about last night movie". Her voice was still a bit shaky from before and her heart didn't slow down.</p><p>Takeru noticed that, but he saw no reason to pull it further. Both teenagers went out to school. But Hikari's mind was in a mess… She was certain… The Dark Ocean had returned for her…</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>[original end notes, may 2006]</p><p>Ta dah! A cliffhanger! Do I love to write those!</p><p>Anyway, I want to apologize for the LONG time I have made you wait. But, please, be comprehensive: it's May, I'm full of global exams and I need to study A LOT! Consider yourselves lucky to even having this chapter! But I promise I'll try to write this as soon as possible and don't worry, this month is being great! I'm exhausted, but I'm happily exhausted (I'll have to thank my friends for that!)!</p><p>Again, if there's any mistake, I'm sorry, because I'm Portuguese and still learning!</p><p>I want to thank my reviewers again for their great job, and I want to ask you again to vote: should this fic be a Taiora, a Sorato or a Taito? So far, we have a tie between Taiora and Sorato! Please, review and vote!</p><p>And while you're waiting for me to update this, check out my other fic, True Love, to have a better idea of what Takari really is! It's just an oneshot, and it's very easy to read! Thanks for your attention!</p><p>About this chapter, it was based a lot on "The Ring", as it was my favorite horror movie and I think it is appropriate to include it.</p><p>I'm not going to steal more of your time… Thanks for everything…</p><p>kathlaida-princess logging out…</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. FLOWERS, MILK SHAKES, LOVE AND TEARS</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>[original notes, june 2006]</p><p>Hi, again! May is finally over, so I can update this more often! Thanks for waiting! I want also to thank my reviewers for their amazing job! Bob, Billy, Silverstein-109, Smile In Your Sleep, truely a lost-kitten, Isaac, JyouraKoumi (sorry, but there will be really few characters on this fic, and I can't really add Koumi to it… But I'm planning a sequel to this fic, so I can try to put it there!), kingdom219 (thank you very much!), Lord Pata (consider the Patamon and Gatomon part a present for you, since I can't add PataGato on this fic! I'm glad you're liking it!) and MellyRox (oh, thank God exams are already over! Summer is really almost here, but is that really a good thing? I already miss my friends and one of my best friends won't be in my class next year… I'm glad you like it!). I'm so glad I have already so many reviews (16, the last time I've checked) and this is all thanks to you, readers and reviewers! Well, on with the story…</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>CHAPTER 3<br/></strong>
  <strong>FLOWERS, MILK SHAKES, LOVE AND TEARS</strong>
</p><p>Takeru and Hikari had classes all morning, but for the young woman, it seemed like they had had classes the whole day, as she was still thinking about the early morning's events.</p><p>Takeru surely noticed her dull expression on her face, but he didn't pay much attention to it, as he was almost as dull as her, mainly due to the LONG math class.</p><p>So, to relax from classes and all distresses, the two best friends went to a park nearby, enjoying the warm weather before lunch. It was almost Summer, and they just loved to spend some time by the beautiful lake inside it.</p><p>There, sitting on the grassy ground, the two friends talked about everything and nothing at all, also insulting their math teacher and his obsession of sending his students loads of homework.</p><p>"You know what, Kari? That Mr. Mitsuba could just grab his dear homework and put it up his…"</p><p>"Takeru!" Kari reprehended.</p><p>"What? Up his nose, I was saying up his nose! These people these days are so bad intentioned!"</p><p>And T.K.'s trick went right, it made Kari smile. Even if only briefly. But Takeru wasn't pleased yet. He had to do something about her, he needed to cheer her up. And he had the perfect solution…</p><p>Hikari was leant over the lake's edge, staring nonchalantly at the fishes. Takeru took advantage of that chance and also leant over the water, with a tricky smile on his face… Kari understood exactly what he was about to do, but she reacted a second too late and, before she knew it, she was completely soaked with the water from the lake. While she was still recovering from the shock, Takeru was already up and running, laughing aloud.</p><p>Kari shook the water off her while getting up and running after him, yelling in a mad tone: "You're going to pay for this, Takaishi!"</p><p>But the blonde young man just kept laughing.</p><p>She chased him throughout the whole park and even kept up with him when he slowed down a bit (otherwise, it wouldn't be fun), but he was still the school's star basketball player and that gave him great advantage.</p><p>However, Takeru tripped over something on the grassy floor and fell to the ground with a great thud. Kari, who was right behind him, couldn't avoid a collision and fell on top of him, putting the two best friends face to face.</p><p>Kari was staring furiously at him, water still dripping from her hair, but T.K. had that warm, magnificent smile on his face. So, Hikari started melting under the sweetness and warmth of his look and smile and a shy smile began to appear on her face.</p><p>As a final blow, Takeru picked up a nearby flower and put it over her ear. She couldn't stand anymore: her smile turned huge and both of started laughing like crazy. However, in this light and funny moment, the two secret lovers made the mistake of gazing deeply at each other's eyes, and they got lost in themselves. For that teeny, tiny moment, Kari could see all her love mirrored on Takeru's eyes, T.K. could see all his passion shining of Hikari's eyes. For that teeny, tiny moment, they knew they loved each other, they knew the truth. And, inspired by that teeny, tiny moment, both closed their eyes, both brought their face closer to the other, longing for that long awaited kiss. But when their lips were about to be locked in that magical kiss, Takeru saw that it could not be real, and felt like he was making a terrible mistake, so he backed down on the last moment and moved his face away.</p><p>"What if we went for a milk shake? I'm definitely in a mood for a milk shake!" he cowardly said, even himself ashamed of his cowardice.</p><p>Kari, strangely disappointed, slowly opened her eyes and reluctantly got off him, nodding, the two of them heading towards the coffee house in an awkward silence.</p><p>They sat down on their usual table, and T.K. left to bring them the milk shakes. But Kari barely noticed him leaving, for she was still thinking of the few last moments… She couldn't stand that, she COULD NOT fall in love with Takeru Takaishi, she just couldn't. Her life was in a complete mess, the Dark Ocean was after her again and she definitely couldn't involve him in it… But it was just too difficult for her to stop that feeling… Wasn't him the sweetest, gentlest, most gorgeous boy she had met or expected to meet in her entire life? Boy, no, a man. He made it so easy to fall in love with him, but she just wished it wasn't that way… Or Darkness would take them both down…</p><p>And speaking of which…</p><p>Once again, everything around the Child of Light lost its color, but she already knew that the nightmare was back… Once again, deeper cuts than before started to appear on the brunette's arms, more blood dripping from them, but she already knew the calling was getting worse. However, this time, a familiar big pair of red shiny eyes appeared on a corner of the coffee house, but she already knew the shadows of the Scubamon had come to take her to the Dark Ocean.</p><p>Turning to the balcony, she tried to find Takeru, but she bumped with a strange waiter right beside her. He was terribly pale, as if death had sucked all the color of him and his eyes were as shiny and red as the creature's eyes from before. He looked like a vampire. Hikari was already terrified, but she got more when the vampire-waiter showed her the blood-like milk shakes he carried on his tray.</p><p>"<em>This will be all that remains of you if you continue to ignore us…,"</em> the monster said with a horrendous tone of voice.</p><p>Hikari tried to get up in despair, but the vampire grabbed her arm with a strong and gelid grip and she found herself unable to move. She tried to scream, but the sound wouldn't get out. Worse than that, she felt the creature taking her to a different place, just by holding her, and her despair grew more and more.</p><p>But, fortunately, her savior came in time again, and before she knew, everything returned to normal again and the enclosed scream came out. However, it was Takeru who was holding her now. She couldn't miss the awfully concerned look on his face, nor the unknown fear in his eyes. Everyone inside the coffee house was staring at them, and Takeru just sit them both down, while letting her arm go. But he hadn't forget what he had just seen…</p><p>Hikari took a small sip from her chocolate (thank God!) milk shake, knowing she was as pale as a ghost, Takeru had heard her scream and he had probably noticed the deep gashes on her arms too. But she kept silent, maybe if she said nothing he wouldn't bring the subject up. But what was she thinking? It was T.K. she was talking about, the <em>man</em> that worried about her the most.</p><p>"It looks like your problem isn't over yet, Hikari," he simply said.</p><p>Kari was tempted to look at him, but she couldn't. She knew his eyes would break her heart…</p><p>"I knew about the paleness, I knew about the jailed screams, but it's the cuts that shatter my heart. Will you tell me now what's happening?"</p><p>She felt the tears forming, every sweet word was tortuous for her, how could she make him suffer like this?</p><p>"Nothing's happening, Takeru. I've told you that before," she said, trying to sound calm, but her voice coming out roughly.</p><p>The Child of Hope just reached out his hand and caressed hers gently. The first tears started to drip from both of them.</p><p>"Stop being strong, Hikari, I already know you are, please tell me what's going on!"</p><p>And the sound of his tears was more than sufficient to break her down and she started sobbing madly. Takeru knew he had to do something, but he could force her to tell him the truth… Still grabbing her hand caringly, he went round the table and sat right next to her, embracing her in a reassuring and tight hug, not caring anymore that everyone was watching them, not wanting to leave her alone with Darkness…</p><p>"Together… we can… do it, Kari… Please… tell me… what's… going… on… Everything… will be… fine…" the crying man pleaded, his voice sobbing due to the cry.</p><p>Hikari had her head rested on his chest and she was sobbing too.</p><p>"Please, T.K. … Stay out of it… I don't… want you… to be… hurt…," she said.</p><p>"I… don't care…! You're my… best friend… and I care… too much… about… you… Please… tell me…"</p><p>"I won't, Takeru… But I can… promise something… If this… happens again… I will tell you… the truth… I promise…!"</p><p>And that somehow calmed Takeru down and he just whispered in her ear, "Thank you… dear friend… But I'm always right here… and you… can always… count on me…"</p><p>Kari just touched the flower she still had on her ear and caressed it gently, before she stared at his crying eyes.</p><p>"I know I can…"</p><p>And they just stayed there, hugged, a relieving smile planted on their faces: on Kari's, because T.K. didn't know the truth yet; on T.K.'s, because she would tell him the truth soon…</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>[original notes, june 2006]</p><p>And this was chapter 3… I hope you liked it, and I promise I'll update all my fics more often!</p><p>There's nothing to say about this chapter, except that I want you to keep reading, reviewing and, of course, voting for what couple you want to see here. Should this fic also be a Taiora, a Taito or a Sorato? Present voting results:</p><p>Taito – 4</p><p>Sorato – 3</p><p>Taiora – 1</p><p>Thank you for you time! See ya next chapter!</p><p>kathlaida-princess logging out…</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. YOU ARE NOT ALONE</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>[original notes, july 2006]</p><p>Hi! I'm so sorry to keep you guys waiting for so long, but I wrote this as quickly as possible, and you should know that I didn't update sooner because holidays proved to be as exhausting as school days.</p><p>Anyway, I'm so glad with all the reviews I'm getting (considering I have more reviews on this fic, that was 3 chapters long than on my other fic, which was 9 chapters long when I started writing this) and it is all thanks to you, dear readers and reviewers. I'm talking to kingdom219 (why don't you read this chapter to find out? Thank you very much for your review!), truely a lost-kitten (I hope this chapter will keep you satisfied for now:)), JyouraKoumi, Lord Pata (well, if they weren't stubborn, Takari wouldn't be that wonderful ;). I hope you update your fic soon! It has been a while!), anon, sugar-wolf, Shane, Wish I Could Forget You, Odat, liz, MellyRox (I'm planning it's going to be around chapter 14… But it won't be that intense actually. I'll tell more when I get almost there), MysticalTears and foxfan91.Really, you make all of this worth it!</p><p>Well, we all know already that Takari rules, so on with the story!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>CHAPTER 4<br/></strong>
  <strong>YOU ARE NOT ALONE</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>Push the door, I'm home at last,<br/>And I'm soaking through and through,<br/>Then you hand me a towel,<br/>And all I see is you,<br/>And even if my house falls down,<br/>I wouldn't have a clue,<br/>Because you're near me and,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I want to thank you,<br/>For giving me the best day of my life,<br/>And, oh, just to be with you,<br/>Is having the best day of my life.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Hikari Kamyia woke up startled, looking carefully around her bedroom with her heart beating too fast. She wasn't certainly having pink dreams, as it had been for as long as the Dark Ocean had been calling her, but she had a dreadful feeling that what brought her back to reality was far worse than her sinister nightmares.</p><p>Her fears come true when she heard a vase falling from her living room, hoping for it to be caused by a robber, but knowing she wouldn't be that lucky. She felt petrified, but she knew she couldn't just stay there. Maybe it wasn't what she was thinking, but she didn't even believe herself.</p><p>To make her feel stronger, Kari brought the little flower T.K. had put over her ear the previous day with her, as if that made him being there in spirit. She put on her pink sleepers and arranged her pink pajamas, heading slowly towards the bedroom door.</p><p>She opened it just a crack, but what she saw made her open the whole door in one movement.</p><p>In front of her, cursing itself for making so much noise, there was an eight feet squid-like Digimon that immediately reminded Hikari of a Gesomon. But this one was much different and far scarier. Its body was entirely black, but its eyes were blood-red and she could see them sometimes covered with translucent grey eyelids. Besides its already long tentacles, the Digimon also had several pairs of dangerous stings and other body parts that Kari didn't want to know what they were made for. The creature's keen eyes rapidly noticed the Child of Light and one of its tentacles ran towards the young woman.</p><p>Kari easily dodged that one and jumped behind the sofa. But the dark Gesomon surely wouldn't give up that easily. It grabbed the walls and the ceiling with its numerous tentacles in a way that reminded Kari much of Doctor Octopus from Spiderman 2 and directed itself to her with a surprising speed. Kari headed back by impulse, but it only got her cornered against the wall. Holding the fragile flower tightly on her hands, she opened her eyes immensely in fear, the image of the approaching beast mirrored on her crimson/brown eyes.</p><p>Kari even tried to escape one last time, but the dark creature forced her to the floor with two of its long tentacles and there was no escape now. The Gesomon used the chance to dive one of its stings in Kari's flesh twice, but she was able to avoid both the tries, leaving huge holes on the floor on her left, and then on her right. It had been fear that gave her those accurate instincts, but the attack also made her furious.</p><p>"Hey, this floor was very expensive, okay? Try to keep everything intact!" she yelled.</p><p>The Digimon just looked at her with this furious gaze, but kept its tight grip around her and merely said, "Fine, I'll take you still conscious".</p><p>The young woman didn't like the sound of it one bit, so struggled to free from that uncomfortable prison, but that proved to be simply impossible. The red-eyed monster held her with another tentacle and then another and another, until the Child of Light was completely wrapped in a disgusting ball of dark and gross living thread. She heard the muffled noise of all the doors being shut and felt the urge to fight for freedom greater than ever before, but the dark creature was much stronger and as time passed by, she could see less of her living room ceiling, which was now involved in a strange mist.</p><p>Hikari began to hear a scary chanting, it seemed to be a celebration song, but whatever the reason the creature that held her in that maze of tentacles had to celebrate, it had to be scary for her. For one moment, the mysterious song combined with the hopelessness of the situation made her stop fighting, made her give up her freedom, but then she noticed the great mistake she was making: she was letting Darkness win her, just like that. And she WOULDN'T go back to that dreadful place that was well named the Dark Ocean.</p><p>It made the Light inside her wake up and the feeling of the loving flower on her hand just made her more willing to fight.</p><p>The first think she did was to bite the tentacles of the dark creature holding her. Hard. And that seemed to work pretty well, as the creature flinched deeply. The rest was much simpler. She used to play soccer with her brother along with Davis, so she learnt how to kick properly, and that helped her a lot now. She was even able to sting the dark Gesomon with its own soporiferous sting, but the creature was smart enough not to inject itself with the poison.</p><p>Gaining great advantage towards the Digimon, Kari ran away and opened the front door heading to Takeru's apartment, while the creature was still examining the damage the young woman had done to it. In front of T.K.'s front door, she hammered it savagely, yelling his name. But she could already see the dark Gesomon attempting to come past the too narrow door…</p><p>"Come on, Takaishi! I'm about to turn into squid food right here…!" she screamed, still pounding the door.</p><p>The creature broke the door open and destroyed the whole doorframe to get to the corridor with an outstanding explosive attack. The approaching beast made fear invade Kari again.</p><p>Thank God a drowsy Takeru opened the door, or it would be her certain doom. Kari pushed her best friend and savior abruptly to the floor and a giant dark tentacle entered the house, along with the Digimon that owned it. Though sleepy and all messed up, the blonde young man could tell that an uncommonly giant squid barging in his apartment wasn't normal.</p><p>"Kari, what the hell is going on here?" he asked.</p><p>But the creature chose that moment to look furiously at Hikari and sent one of its tentacles to grab the Child of Light. Both of them lying on the floor, she just hugged T.K. tightly, feeling safer that way, and the blonde hugged her back protectively, wanting her to know that if that creature, whatever it was, harmed her, it had to harm him first. However, the weirdest thing happened when the crest of Hope and the crest of Light they carried for ages touched.</p><p>First, they started to glow, Hope in golden light, Light in pink. Then, the crests began vibrating and sent an immensely powerful red beam towards the dark Gesomon, reducing it to ashes. The two friends even had to cover their eyes due to the brightness of the attack. Finally, as weirdly and rapidly as it started, Takeru saw the crests stopping glowing and returning to normal. Kari, however, had her face still hidden on T.K.'s chest and had no motivation at all to move it away.</p><p>"Is it over already?" she asked with a shaky voice.</p><p>Still lying on the floor, the Child of Hope just kissed her forehead in response and embraced her closely in his arms, resting his chin on her head.</p><p>"Yeah, we just kicked that bastard's butt," he answered.</p><p>Feeling now safe and remembering the fear she felt and how close she had been to the Dark Ocean during that battle brought tears to Kari's eyes. As she promised to tell Takeru the truth the next time something happened, the Child of Light didn't fight her tears, crying for the second time in two days. T.K. felt her sobbing against his chest, and caressed her hair caringly to make her feel better.</p><p>"Look, I don't care what you say now, but I'm not leaving you alone now. If it's okay with you, we're having some sleep right here for the next of the night, and tomorrow we'll talk about what happened, okay?" the blonde suggested with the smoothest tone.</p><p>In reply, the brunette just snuggled closer to him, her sobbing fading as time passed, as the two best friends slowly fell asleep on the floor.</p><p>Later, when Takeru couldn't know if he was still awake or entering a very sweet dream, he heard the most beautiful voice in the world he knew saying, "Thank you so much for everything, T.K.. I'm just so sorry for everything I made you through…"</p><p>And, with a voice typical of someone that is just barely awake, Takeru replied, "Everything I did, I did it because I care about you. You are not alone, Hikari. You will never be as long as my heart beats. And that's a promise…"</p><p>Takeru never knew if the smile he had on his lips could be also found on Hikari's, but he was somehow sure that she had heard him, and that was enough for him…</p><p>Never his floor felt that comfortable on his entire life…</p><p>Hikari Kamyia woke up to the delicious smell of pancakes and, surprisingly, she woke up from a happy dream. First, she wondered why she was lying on T.K.'s apartment's floor, but then the memories from the previous night returned to her and she smiled at the last things she heard from her savior's mouth.</p><p>She then got up slowly and looked around. Her eyes laid on a suitcase on Takeru's couch, with some feminine clothes on it as well as a toothbrush, a comb, a towel and a red hairpin. All of those objects belonged to her. A new wave of affection swept over her as she smiled at Takeru's actions. He was always so sweet to her…</p><p>Finally, she walked into the kitchen, noticing an already dressed T.K. finishing cooking breakfast for both. She looked at the kitchen's clock and noted that it was only seven o'clock of the morning. Kari knew it was a school day, but why was Takeru awake so soon?</p><p>The blonde saw her on the doorway when he was putting the pancakes on a plate and smiled broadly at her.</p><p>"Hey, I hope you had a good sleep. I've made breakfast for us".</p><p>"So I can see," she stated, watching him heading towards the table and serving the pancakes. He sat on one chair and Kari sat opposite to him, grabbing a fork while Takeru put peanut butter and melted chocolate on her pancake, her favorite combination (A/N: and mine too :)). "They look delicious! Thank you so much, Takeru. For this, and for bringing my stuff here."</p><p>T.K. shrugged his shoulders.</p><p>"Come on, it was nothing. You were tired; I did what a good host does to its guest. It caused me no trouble."</p><p>Kari smiled sincerely at him. "I'm still thankful. But why are we awake at seven A.M.? I know it's Friday and the school year's last week is coming, but do we have to get to school this early?"</p><p>Takeru's expression became darker at her words.</p><p>"Not really. We woke up earlier because I wanted to know what happened last night as soon as possible. Are you ready to tell me now?"</p><p>Hikari looked down and started to play with her pancake. Actually, she was seeing that coming, and she knew she had to tell him the truth now, so she found no point in delaying it more.</p><p>So, she looked deeply on his cerulean-blue eyes and said with a determinate tone, "I'm ready."</p><p>It took her half an hour to explain everything that had passed on those few days. Of course, she left the worse parts for her, like the first nightmare she had or all the pain she felt during the whole time, but she knew Takeru could read it all on her eyes. She could tell he was trying hard to keep eating and not get to angry at the creatures that were calling Kari, but that was just the way he was: always worrying about her safety.</p><p>"… and then yesterday that Digimon appeared in my living room, it tried to take me to his world, we came here, and you already know about the rest…" she finished.</p><p>For moments, T.K. just stared thoughtfully nothing in particular, partly incorporating all the information he received, partly trying to find an impossible solution to that problem.</p><p>"So, this means the Dark Ocean has come for you again, huh?"</p><p>"Worse than before, yeah," she answered. Somehow, the Child of Light felt much better after telling him her problems, everything in T.K. irradiated safety to her.</p><p>"Kari, I'm going to ask you something. You don't need to accept it, but I think it's the best solution."</p><p>"What is it?" she asked curiously.</p><p>"Will you move in with me until this mess ends? I won't let you alone again after what happened, I won't let them take you, like I did the last time."</p><p>Of course Kari had already considered that, but she didn't pay it much thought, as it would involve Takeru on that mess and certainly put him in danger. But now he knew the truth, he was on the same boat as Kari, and she knew he wouldn't leave her alone like that. It has always been one of T.K.'s best qualities and flaws alike. And it was really the best solution available, as those terrible things somehow didn't happen when she was around her best friend in the world.</p><p>So, she ate another piece of the pancake and waited until she swallowed it up to answer his question.</p><p>"You did your best, last time. There was no way you could guess it would happen. But I agree with you. If we stay together, they won't attack me. And <em>maybe</em> this nightmare will end soon, so we can enjoy our Summer. I'm just afraid if something happens to you… That was why I didn't tell you anything. Just because Darkness is always after me, it doesn't have to be always after you too."</p><p>"Come on, aren't we the best friends? If you've got a problem, it's my problem too. It's a life-long deal! Do you really think I care if something happens to me if they take you away from me?" That made Kari smile, and he smiled too, happy with his effort. "Look, after breakfast, you can go to your place to pick up all your important things, and I mean ALL of them. You can only be alone the least time possible, because those creeps will use every moment to try to get you. I'll call the locksmith to know what he can do about your front door. I'm sorry for what that beast has done to your apartment…"</p><p>"No problem, we'll talk about it later. Let's just enjoy this wonderful breakfast now, shall we?"</p><p>With a smile, Takeru just said, "I promise you'll have the best weekend ever!"</p><p>And they just finished eating their pancakes, repeating for they were so good, talking about their upcoming school day, for a moment oblivious to the nightmare that had just started…</p><p>The weekend was almost perfect. T.K. was always a complete gentleman and Kari had the best time. With so much fun, there was no time for thinking about the Dark Ocean and its attempts to win her back.</p><p>The two friends would sleep in the same room, but T.K. had given Kari his bed away and placed a mattress just next to it, just in case something happened during night. The young woman got mad at him for sleeping on the floor, but T.K. kept saying that she was his guest, so she had to be treated well.</p><p>As Takeru was an excellent cook, every meal was eaten with delight and Kari felt as if she was eating in a fancy yet free restaurant, with the peculiarity of being served by the person she cared about the most in the world. From homemade lasagnas to low-calorie delicious salads, the variety was immense, and Kari just had to ask nicely to have the best food in the world. Actually, she loved to watch T.K. cooking, as the young man would usually take off his shirt and have his golden hair covered in sweat, and Kari found him very handsome those times. Sure she didn't want to look at him that way, but it had become more and more difficult with the passing time, and she learnt to give in slowly to that warm feeling. After all, wasn't he the one who always stood there for her?</p><p>However, the best time they had together had to be when they left home. Of course they spent their usual time on the coffee house after Friday's classes, and this time, fortunately, with no vampire waiters, but they also went to the movies that day, to watch "Friends, the Movie", whose tickets Takeru had bought a long time ago, when they thought they'd have detention for being late to school. They surely laughed a lot then, to the point where the usher would throw them out if they made just one more single noise. Of course they kept their laughter to themselves till the end of the movie, but when they got out, they looked like a pair of drunk teenagers by the way they were behaving on the streets.</p><p>Saturday was also a wonderful day. On the morning, Takeru received a post card from Matt, who was spending some well-deserved vacations with Kari's brother Tai and their best friend Sora on Hawaii. The two young adults spent the whole morning writing them a joke letter, so they spent most of the time still laughing about the previous day movie and about what they had written, because it turned out to be very funny. By lunchtime, their stomach hurt so much from the laughter that they had to postpone that meal a bit. Obviously, they didn't mention the Dark Ocean incident, mainly because they didn't want to ruin their vacation, but also because even themselves didn't want to remember about it now.</p><p>The afternoon was as funny as the morning had been, if not more. T.K. had planned to cook a special pizza for dinner that would take him almost the whole afternoon, but Hikari had volunteered to help him, even though her cooking abilities weren't the best (that was why she always lunched and dined at her friend's house). Takeru first laughed at her, but then thought it wouldn't be that much of a bad idea if he taught her how to cook. But what was supposed to be a cooking lesson, fast became a war of flour, ham, shredded cheese, mushrooms and ketchup. In the end, the special pizza made by Kari turned out to be a small amount of dough with some cheese, ham, mushrooms and ketchup on the top, exactly like the cherry on the top of a chantilly cake, and Takeru and Hikari were so covered in pizza ingredients that looked like they had put makeup on. But it only means that the fun they had was much greater than they expected. Then, the Child of Hope just put Kari next to the "pizza" and took a picture of them, "Kari's first… hum, pizza" T.K. called it. Finally, the two friends raced to the bathroom, but Kari got there first, so T.K. stayed with the arduous job of cleaning the kitchen up. Of course Hikari joined him later, mainly because T.K. grabbed her tightly and told he would tickle her to death if she didn't, but they still had loads of fun, just because they were together.</p><p>So, we can assume dinner was wonderful, because it would be the plain truth. T.K. cut the mutant pizza in two and gave Kari the honor of having the first bite. Strangely, the pizza was the tastiest thing the two teens had tasted! It seems that everything turns out fine if you do it with love, along with your best friends…</p><p>At night, the two friends went for a walk in the park, arms linked, enjoying the company of each other, not having a care in the world. They stayed there a long time, staring at the stars. But they didn't notice how long they stayed there, so when they arrived home, it was already two o'clock in the morning!</p><p>Maybe it was why they woke up at lunchtime that next Sunday…</p><p>After a light lunch, the two best friends prepared for the most boring part of that weekend: math homework. It could be the school year's last week, but they still had math homework. But even that became funny, as they insulted and abused Mr. Mitsuba badly.</p><p>After that, they went to a basketball court nearby, and they played a little one-on-one… Of course Takeru was winning, being him his school's star basketball player, dribbling perfectly and dodging her even better, but Hikari also had a few tricks of her own… When T.K. was about to score, she jumped at his legs and brought him down to the floor, sitting then comfortably on his lap, he lying on the floor and facing up, looking somehow happily mad. However, the mad part faded away when Kari smiled at him. He said, "You won't score from here".</p><p>"Watch me…"</p><p>And she just grabbed the ball with her hands t-shaped and threw it to the hoop. The ball circled around it for some seconds, but then it dived inside it. Takeru looked at it dumbfounded and Kari just folded her arms in self-pride.</p><p>"And that's how you score beautifully in basketball!" she said.</p><p>T.K. was about to seize her and start a tickle war, but the falling ball hit his head. Kari succeeded in suppressing a giggle and just hugged the hurting young man tightly.</p><p>"Ah, this hurts like hell!" he exclaimed, rubbing the aching zone.</p><p>"Here, I know just the trick to make you feel batter," Kari stated, and just kissed the hurting spot one, two, three times.</p><p>Takeru, blushing a bit from that, still had the nerve to say, "Can you kiss it one more time, please? It still hurts a bit…"</p><p>Kari laughed at him, and just said, before starting an awaited tickle war, "You weren't supposed to enjoy it, you know?"</p><p>The war lasted about ten minutes. Everyone that passed by looked at them with a smile, probably thinking they were a happy couple, and the two young adults didn't mind it at all. After all, it was what they wanted, wasn't it?</p><p>So, as they were completely exhausted after all of that, they decided to stay the rest of the day and night at home.</p><p>After dinner, Takeru decided to put on some of his old "Friends" episodes on his Home Cinema set and the two best friends watched them sitting warmly on Takeru's famous sofa. As Kari was worn out after their afternoon, she started burrowing inside Takeru's welcoming embrace and felt more like she was having a good dream than like she was awake and watching TV.</p><p>T.K. noticed that and started to caress her hair, opening even more the gates of a peaceful sleep. He knew that whole Dark Ocean incident was terrible for his best girl friend and made sure he gave all care and love he could to make her feel better (and believe me, he had A LOT of care and love to give her). Soon, a small yet most rewarding smile drew itself upon Hikari's lips and the young man knew he was the only one watching Rachel's cooking disaster (A/N: … who is one of Friends's main characters, with Jennifer Aniston playing her role). So, he carefully laid Hikari on the couch and started to turn off the DVD reader. Then, with the greatest care in the world, he just took her in his arms and left her on the bed he had given away. Staring at her absolute serene expression, Takeru felt the urge of kissing her hitting hard on his heart, but he knew it would be dishonest and he would be taking advantage of her. So, he just pecked lovingly her forehead and laid on his improvised bed on the floor, covering himself with a thin blanket.</p><p>However, he wasn't expecting that Kari would crawl lazily out of the bed and would head towards him, lying there and snuggling against him, falling into a deep sleep, but he didn't mind it.</p><p>The Dark Ocean could bring down anyone alone, however strong one could be, but it still had to grow much darker to bring down those two best friends/destined-to-be-lovers holding themselves together on that newly-warm floor.</p><p>"<em>The boy… the boy is ruining our plans! With him on our way, we will never get the Chosen One… We must eliminate the boy, if we want to save us all…"</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>[original notes, july 2006]</p><p>He, he, he, I finally finished this thing! It took me forever, but, hey, it's a pretty big chapter!</p><p>I hoped you liked the new Digimon I made up, this whole idea of having Kari living at T.K.'s and I hope you enjoy the calm before the storm, because action will start on this next chapter…</p><p>Also, the lyrics on the beginning of the fic are from the song Thank you, by Dido.</p><p>Anyway, I want you to review and, of course, to vote for our second couple. Should this fic also be a Taiora, Sorato or Taito?</p><p>Current results:</p><p>Taiora – 3</p><p>Sorato – 7</p><p>Taito – 6</p><p>Keep voting! You have till the end of the fic to do it!</p><p>Well, I think I have nothing more to say about this, except that I expect to update soon…</p><p>Thank you for your time!</p><p>kathlaida-princess logging out…</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. TO FINISH THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL…</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>[original notes, august 2006]</p><p>Well, it has been a while since I've updated… You can blame Jak Mar, from the PS2 game, for that… (Just kidding, Jak! You're the best! I'm the one guilty for liking you so much!) But after playing the three games and falling in love with everything about him, I just got so inspired to write that I just can't help myself! Jak is my Muse now! You should go and play it too (after reading this, of course), you won't regret it, and you'll understand my delay!</p><p>Anyway, thank you so much JyouraKoumi, Lord Pata, Omar, greatstories, puasluoma, Odat, MysticalTears, IgStardust, i was like takari , Amakurikara, dragonsrulllz, , Wish I Could Forget You, kilaminjari, Green Day Sucks and kingdom219 (and I'm looking forward to reading that upcoming story of yours!) for your fantastic reviews!</p><p>I have nothing else to say…</p><p>On with the story!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>CHAPTER 5<br/></strong>
  <strong>TO FINISH THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL…</strong>
</p><p>So, as we know from the previous chapter, the weekend went without any kind of problem, it was even very funny and Hikari and Takeru had a wonderful time together.</p><p>The locksmith was completely shocked when he saw Kari's front door state and even asked what had happened there, but the two friends were restrained in answers. It took the poor man an entire day to fix the door.</p><p>But besides the remaining signs of the monster's "visit", there was nothing else that reminded them of the Dark Ocean, as it didn't attack again. The young adults had the feeling that whatever was calling Kari, it had given up trying to get her and everything was finally returning to normal. They agreed to wait two more days until she could go back to her apartment, just in case they were wrong. Lucky them for making that deal, for their problems were far from ending…</p><p>The Dark Ocean's next strike happened the following Tuesday, the day Kari was supposed to leave T.K.'s apartment, right when the two friends arrived from school…</p><p>Loud laughter could be heard from afar, as a tall blonde boy and his brunette best friend raced to his place, in order to decide who would cook diner that night. After great struggle, the young woman got there first, but then forgot one important detail…</p><p>"I've got the keys!" the blonde bragged.</p><p>'Enraged', Kari still tried to steal the keys away twice, but T.K. was able to hide them well. In a victory sign, he opened the door with great ceremony and merely stated, "And this is how it's done! I cook tonight."</p><p>Hikari even chased him to start a tickle war, but he was able to reach the kitchen in time and closed the glass door promptly, so that she couldn't get to him. Instead, she stuck out her tongue to him and he answered with a similar face while she was heading to the bathroom for a shower. Then, he just smiled broadly and yelled, "Don't be mad at me, I'll put cheese on the omelet for you!"</p><p>She just stuck out her tongue again, but Takeru knew she was thankful. Then, he went cooking while she closed the door behind her and started undressing, smiling too.</p><p>It was amazing how happy she had been feeling for the past few days when her previous week had felt like hell. She was glad that everything returned to normal, but a part of her was sad to go back to her apartment. Living with Takeru was like being in Heaven and every day was worth living. After all her clothes were taken off and the water coming from the shower was warm, she got inside the bath and started soaking her hair, thinking about her future.</p><p>But she was oblivious to a bizarre stream of darkness that was coming out from the bath's grater, a stream of darkness that resembled a thin line of dark fog and snaked up her body towards her head. Kari barely felt the light cold of its touch or the pungent smell it left upon her wet skin. She couldn't stop it from invading her body, because it entered her nostrils with each breath she took. And when the darkness was deep inside her, she went completely numb, her body suddenly rigid and freezing, her eyes widened and fixated in nothing at all, losing all their brightness and happiness, a terrifying, almost incomprehensible and whispering chanting lingering in her ears, giving her terrible orders.</p><p>"<em>Come to us, Child… Don't let the boy keep you away from your Destiny! Kill him!"</em></p><p>Her hand dropped the shower involuntarily, driven by the power of those orders. She didn't know what she was doing, but she knew it was important to obey whoever was taking control of her. She had to kill the boy.</p><p>She languidly reached for a towel and put it around her, heading then towards the kitchen, slowly, silently, inevitably, like an imminent disaster falling on a distracted victim.</p><p>Takeru was so concentrated on his cooking that he didn't notice the haunted girl opening the glass door, grabbing a big sharp table knife from the knife-case, walking slowly towards him, ready to strike a final and deadly stab that would prevent him from getting on the way of her pursuers, ready to kill him. The lingering whispers became more excited with their goal so close, and that excitement seemed to make Kari more willing to finish him off.</p><p>But even though the blonde didn't notice her approach, his heart jumped when the lethal blade came crashing down on his back and he turned around in an unbelievable speed, driven by his instincts, holding her arm back with all his strength. He could swear he had seen death before his eyes. But T.K. couldn't believe it: it was Kari who was attacking him!</p><p>Weirdly, she was much stronger than he could remember and her eyes were… odd… They weren't shining, they seemed to be invaded by a terrible darkness, as if she had been blinded. And the Child of Hope understood immediately. Their problems weren't gone after all. Darkness came and possessed his best friend.</p><p>He didn't know what to do, and he hadn't much time, for she was growing stronger by the minute while he was getting weaker from trying to hold her back. He couldn't try to harm the Darkness within her: if he did, it was Kari's body that paid the price. So, he tried to talk to her, praying that his pleas would reach the dormant Kari inside.</p><p>"Kari, I know you're there… It's me… T.K…."</p><p>But it seemed to have no effect on her.</p><p>"<em>The girl will come to us, you can't stop it! Get out of our way!" </em>Kari ordered, in a supernatural tone of voice.</p><p>But it only made Takeru angry. He wouldn't let the Dark Ocean take Hikari, even if he had to be stabbed to death to save her. He wouldn't commit the same mistake twice. So, he spoke again, and this time he even reached one of the hands that were holding the knife back to caress her face. He wouldn't give up just like that.</p><p>"Kari, are you hearing me? Don't let them control you, don't let them take you. I'm right here, I won't let them take you. Hold onto me, Kari…"</p><p>And the real Kari sensed something, she could hear him, but from far away…</p><p>"Hold onto me, Kari…" he begged.</p><p>And Kari's spirit woke up from that lethargy and fought its way back to take control. But it was too hard… They were too strong, they were bringing her down…</p><p>T.K. noticed her breathing more heavily and knew that he had gotten through to her, but he also knew it wasn't over yet. With his free hand he forced eye contact and hoped his caring blue eyes would accentuate his appeals.</p><p>"Hold onto me, Kari!" he practically yelled.</p><p>And that time their force combined was enough to expel that Darkness from her body and save Kari one more time. But for how long could that frail peace last?</p><p>Kari's entire body started trembling, her eyes returned to normal and her shaky hand dropped the knife with a loud metallic noise, while she was coughing out the dangerous dark mist. After a second, her brain recalled the whole scene and she gasped in horror. She had tried to kill Takeru… she had tried to kill the only one that stood there always for her…</p><p>The horror was too much for her to handle so she brought her trembling hands to her face, but that didn't prevent a flow of tears to come out from her eyes.</p><p>"Oh my God, Takeru, what have I done… I'm so sorry…," she said, her voice sobbing and sounding miserable.</p><p>But T.K. didn't want her to do that, he felt more miserable than her just by seeing her like that. It hadn't been her fault, she couldn't have done anything. So, he just wrapped an arm around the crying girl and led her to the sofa, both of them sitting down, and he wiped her tears away, even though much more started coming out…</p><p>"I'm such a… terrible… person… I tried to… kill you… You! The one who… saved me… I'm so sorry, so sorry, I'm a horrible person…"</p><p>With that she hugged him tight, even knowing it would never make up for what she did. It was unforgivable, even hell wasn't enough to make her pay for her crime. But Takeru wouldn't mind if she actually stabbed him, for he knew she hadn't been herself, and he was more worried with her state right then, instead of worrying about his near-death experience. So, he hugged her back and lifted her chin up, making her puffy yet enchanting eyes meet his still loving ones, a small and forced smile on his lips.</p><p>"Don't worry, Kari, I'm alright, nothing happened, it's over now, okay? Don't blame yourself for this, if you want to blame someone, blame me. I'm the one you left you alone," he stated, with the most soothing tone of voice.</p><p>"I was having a shower," she said, nonchalantly.</p><p>"Yeah, but any decent man should know that women waste too much time in a bathroom."</p><p>Victory, he was able to make her smile too, even briefly.</p><p>"What did I do to deserve you, Takeru?"</p><p>"That doesn't matter now. I'm going to prepare a nice cup of hot chocolate for you, okay? Just try to relax."</p><p>And he left for the kitchen, but he noticed that Kari returned to her sobbing state when the memories of the previous events invaded her again. But his frail smile faded too when he shut the glass door. Takeru had always been good in hiding his true feelings.</p><p>Truth was he was scared. Scared to death with all that was happening. The Dark Ocean had become smarter and made them believe the problem was over to catch them in surprise. But T.K. wasn't afraid for himself. All those years in the Digital World made him lose his fear. No, he was afraid for Kari, afraid of what those monsters were doing to her. Through the glass door, he could see the effect this last strike had on her. While he was preparing the promised hot chocolate, he knew that all of that had to end for once and for all, before it got worse, for both Kari's and his sake. But how? The last time he had to enter the dreadful place to save his friend, but this time he didn't want to put her in danger like that. The last time, if it hadn't been for Angewomon, those shadow-like creatures would have taken her away.</p><p>Due to all those worries, he made a hot chocolate for himself too. When he finished both, he put on his mask again and walked into the living room, where Kari was sitting thoughtfully on the sofa.</p><p>"Hey, your chocolate it's done. Be careful, it's still hot."</p><p>He handed her a cup which had lots of kittens drawn on it. He knew it was her favorite. She held it with both hands and smelled the delicious and warm liquid inside, but she didn't drink it.</p><p>"Thank you…" she said with a rough voice.</p><p>On the other hand, Takeru sat by her side and immediately took a sip from his own cup, burning his tongue in the process. While getting over the pain, he looked at his friend, but she still hadn't started drinking. She kept staring at the cup thoughtfully, and the young man had the feeling he wouldn't like what was coming from her.</p><p>Then, suddenly, she started to talk, her voice slow and low.</p><p>"I'm going back to the Dark Ocean," she merely stated.</p><p>T.K. was already expecting that, but he certainly hated the idea.</p><p>"What?" he asked.</p><p>"I'm going back to the Dark Ocean," she repeated. "They'll keep coming for me, and they've already tried to kill you. This is just between me and them, and I won't let anyone else to be hurt for me anymore".</p><p>And the young man couldn't control his temper anymore.</p><p>"You can't! You remember the place better than me, you remember what they tried to do to you, and you can trust me, this time will be worse!"</p><p>"What do you suggest we should do, then? They'll keep on calling me, and it's getting more desperate, I don't think I can't resist it any longer!"</p><p>"But I'm with you, Hikari! I won't let them get, you know I won't! We'll fight them together!"</p><p>This argument was getting very similar to the last one, but this time Hikari wouldn't lose the point.</p><p>"They'll kill you, T.K., like they made me try today, and they will take me away the same. I have to get there, I have to fix this, I have to stop running away from my problems! This has already gone too far!"</p><p>And Takeru realized she wouldn't change her mind about that, so he had to think about another way to make sure she was safe. Even though he didn't like the idea of returning to that terrible place, he spoke up.</p><p>"Okay, if it's your wish to go, I can't prevent you from going. But I'm going with you."</p><p>And Kari was caught in surprise with his sentence.</p><p>"But you can't! You don't have to suffer with my problems! I won't let you!" she yelled.</p><p>However, the blonde teenager wouldn't give up that easily.</p><p>"Let's get this straight: if you're going, I'm going with you. I don't care how dangerous it is, I won't let you go there all by yourself. Besides, two heads think better than one. If both of us go together, the faster we can sort this out AND the faster we can come back home. Savvy?" (A/N: he, he, Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean was always saying that…)</p><p>And Kari couldn't fight with his logic. Even reluctant, she agreed with him and he let a smile appear.</p><p>"Then, let's get ready for this new 'adventure'…" he said.</p><p>During the rest of the afternoon, forgetting about the promised diner, Kari got dressed and then, they packed. They filled their backpacks with supplies, water and a change of clothes, as well as their D-terminals and their D-3s, even thought their Digimon weren't with them: it made them feel safer. After that, they sat again on the sofa and did some brainstorming, trying to reunite all the information they had on the Dark Ocean.</p><p>They knew that there were Scubamon there, as well as a powerful "undersea master", even though they didn't know which kind of Digimon it was. But they also knew that both of them wanted Kari. She remembered that the Scubamon turned into these strange shadow-like creatures and wanted her power to dethrone their master. So, both the two Digimon kinds were fighting each other for her and, eventually, she would have to choose which one to give her power. But they could only know who to choose when they got there.</p><p>However, that wasn't their only worry. They didn't know at all how dangerous the place was now, so they had to be very careful, mainly because their Digimon weren't with them. They hoped their little mission wouldn't take long to accomplish.</p><p>Lastly, before they left the apartment, they decided they wouldn't tell anyone about their absence. Well, even if they wanted, they couldn't: both Matt and Tai were with their best friend Sora in Hawaii, spending some well-deserved vacations after a hard year in college; Kari's parents were out of town, visiting her grandparents in the countryside; Takeru's mother was already sad to have her son moving out, he wouldn't upset her even more by telling he was getting involved in a dangerous adventure in a different dimension. Besides, they would probable return home that same day, if the problem was the same from the last time. How they were wrong…</p><p>After all that, they knew it was time to leave. They grabbed their backpacks, locked the apartment door and went to the beach, the same beach where T.K. entered the Dark Ocean before to save Hikari…</p><p>Anyone who passed by them could tell they looked nervous. They didn't want to talk much about it, but something told them this time everything would be harder. Maybe because Kari's nightmares were full of blood instead of water. Maybe because this time Darkness tried to kill Takeru. But one has to do what one has to do, and when the two best friends reached the 'transporting' spot from before, Kari suddenly stopped and yelled to nothing in particular, "Okay, I'm here. What do you want from me?"</p><p>And just like that, the same dark mist that possessed her in the shower appeared all around her, involving her completely. She felt T.K.'s warm hands grab her small ones.</p><p>"<em>Come in, Child of Light,"</em> a spectral voice echoed.</p><p>And the two friends were swallowed by the dark chilly fog.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>[original notes, august 2006]</p><p>Yupi, the action starts at last!</p><p>I haven't much to say about this chapter, except that I hope you liked it!</p><p>Please, keep reviewing and voting for the second couple! All of this is made especially for you, you know?</p><p>Anyway, do you want this fic to be a Taiora, a Sorato or a Taito?</p><p>Here are the current results:</p><p>Taiora: 5</p><p>Sorato: 9</p><p>Taito: 10</p><p>There's nothing more to say, now me and Jak, my Muse, are going for a walk… See ya all next chapter!</p><p>kathlaida-princess logging out…</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. HELL BEGINS</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>[original notes, feb 2007]</p><p>Hey, everyone! First of all, I want to apologize for this late update: school as well as my whole life has gone crazy on me and I've been busy all the time. But no worries, for I'll still be writing my stories whenever I have time. Just be patient, I promise I won't give up on this.</p><p>Second of all, as usual, I want to thank JyouraKoumi (well, you convinced me. There will be some Koumi around the end of the fic, if I can't put it anytime sooner. I realized I could involve other characters in some parts of this fiction, so don't worry about it and I hope you appreciate it ˆˆ), Odat (I didn't get your whole review… Maybe you want to retype it now?), puasluoma (thanks and I hope you like this one too!), Lord Pata (T.K. always makes everything right!), MysticalTears (don't worry, I've learned to control myself not to play games so much. Besides, I don't really have the time. Anyway, thanks and enjoy this one too!), Shortyst, Taeniaea, alkjcnew (Takeru really is sweet… sighs), Wish I Could Forget You (I'll try to…), Amakurikara (yeah, from now on, it will always be the Dark Ocean…), Lina (hurray for gay! Lol), a, I used to be a takari , voter, abc, A.S.A (sim, falemos na língua! Muito obrigada pelo comentário e também me surpreende ver alguém português a comentar esta história! Desculpa sinceramente pelo atraso e espero que gostes também deste capítulo!) kairu-chi (well, it was time for them to finally move forward! I'm glad you liked it and I hope you like this chapter too!), Sora Takenouchi Ishida, Mike Kromer, Jak Fowl (you have Jak in your nickname! Lol), misskingkhome and Windy for reviewing and giving me one more reason to go on with this fic! I'm happy that I have 67 reviews already and it wouldn't happen if it weren't for you!</p><p>Anyway, lastly, I hope you enjoy this new chapter and I'm just picking up my Muse Jak to get this started…</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>CHAPTER 6<br/></strong>
  <strong>HELL BEGINS</strong>
</p><p>"Okay, I'm here. What do you want from me?" Kari yelled to nothing in particular.</p><p>And just like that, the same dark mist that possessed her in the shower appeared all around her, involving her completely. She felt T.K.'s warm hands grab her small ones.</p><p>"<em>Come in, Child of Light,"</em> a spectral voice echoed.</p><p>And the two friends were swallowed by the dark chilly fog.</p><p>After the supernatural dark mist had involved them completely, the floor beneath their feet vanished and, still with their hands given, Takeru and Hikari fell to the recently formed abyss.</p><p>The portal to the Dark Ocean was a chaotic kaleidoscope of colorless and scary images, like a very old and brief horror movie, with the film severely damaged and the terrible chanting of the inhabitant creatures as the soundtrack. While falling, the two best friends were only able to see a few glimpses of that place's glorious past, the complete opposite of its awful reality. The more they went down that abyss, the more they regretted to enter there the first place. But they couldn't: they had to finish that nightmare once and for all…</p><p>And so, as suddenly as it had begun, the tunnel was over, and the two young adults fell hard on the solid rock floor.</p><p>Even if with their eyes still closed due to the strength of the impact, T.K. and Kari were already able to tell that they were far away from home, for no place in their world was struck by such a supernatural coolness capable of freezing the most hidden corners of their being, of draining all the faith or hope that everything would return to normal again, of injecting them with the most terrible and paralyzing fear. Even though they had just arrived, the desire of leaving that place was already crushing.</p><p>With a stinging pain all over their bodies, as well as the lame first impression caused by that place, it was very difficult for the two young adults to get up and start the appraisal of that new adventure. But after a lot of effort and even some help from the other, the two best friends rose and took a thoughtful and perceptive look at their surroundings, noticing how drastically that place had changed.</p><p>Unfortunately, the memory of their last "stay" at the Dark Ocean was too fresh on Hikari's mind, but not even that memory was worse than the vision of that place on the present day…</p><p>To have a better view of the site, Takeru tried to drop Kari's hand, who had always kept a tight grip around his hand since the fog swallowed them, but she just squeezed it more closely. Noticing her terrified expression, the Child of Hope immediately understood that that bond was the only thing that kept her from falling in total despair, so he let it be. Besides, there was no need for surprise, as that place had such a powerful impact on people.</p><p>For that reason, he also pulled the young woman with him, and together they left the place they were on to go to the middle of a small and dark beach that ended in an also shady ocean, turning their backs on it. Over there, they were able to observe the grey forest beyond the beach.</p><p>And, over there, there was nothing that could hide the horror that the present Dark Ocean harbored.</p><p>After the first and terrible impression of the glacial cold and the fetid stench of fear impregnating the surrounding air, the reality of the absence of color hit them, for everything there was of icy tones of white, black and grey. It was as if they had entered a very old and bad memory brought back from a distant past, as if they were having the worst of nightmares, it felt like all life and happiness that could exist on Earth had been completely eradicated from that place. The complete silence that overflew that place along with its supernatural lack of color made it a portrait of complete desolation and death, for the darkness that haunted it was so overwhelming that even life, which has conquered places like the bottom of the sea or the peak of the highest mountains, was scared away from there. There wasn't a sound of birds, of seagulls, nor even of the rustling trees or anything related to a beach. There wasn't even enough wind to make the sound of the crashing ocean waves present. The only thing they could hear was the frightened sound of their beating hearts while their eyes rested on the grey forest beyond the sands. But the picture wasn't prettier there.</p><p>As far as their eyes could reach, a wide forest could be found beyond the beach, this is, if you could call it a forest. To be much more accurate, they were able to see a wide extension of dead, grey trees that started where the beach ended and went on to the distance. Just like the rest of the place, the "forest" was completely colorless and lifeless, and by the look of it, it really seemed that the whole place had been attacked by acid rains, which had become a serious in their real world. However, when Takeru looked to the sky, the clouds he found were the color of the dark ocean behind them, which could prove them right or wrong, for the best or for the worst. They still didn't know what was different about those waters. So, knowing they would find nothing else staring at the dead forest, the two best friends turned around and faced the dark ocean. Barely they knew it would give them an even worse impression of the site.</p><p>On a promontory that diverged from the beach in direct touch with the ocean, was the same lighthouse the two young adults had destroyed the last time they entered the Dark Ocean. The same dark light came out of it, but it looked much bigger and much darker. Could there be another Dark Tower hiding there again? No, that would be impossible. The Dark Emperor never came back there again. So, they wondered. What was the source of that dark light, and what its effect on that place? Takeru stared down at the ocean of dark waters and thought. Maybe it wasn't water, but just that darkness that came out of the lighthouse in a liquid form. That was why there was no foam in the water and all the trees were dead. To prove his theory right, the Child of Hope approached the ocean and touched the water. But he didn't know what he was about to find.</p><p>Kari tried to warn him not to do that, but it was too late. T.K. bent down to touch the supposed water and let it drip from his hands. But there was something wrong about its touch, something wrong about the way it dried in contact with his hand, there was even something wrong about the way it smelt… Then, the realization of what he was holding was hit him like a punch and he dropped it immediately, stepping away from that evil dark ocean.</p><p>"This isn't water…" he stated. "It's blood…"</p><p>The Child of Light really had a bad feeling about that strange liquid, but the impact of what Takeru had said hit her hard. She evaluated the size of the ocean. It was humongous, even greater than the dead forest behind them. She wondered how many innocents had to die to fill it up. She shuddered at that thought. Takeru put an arm around her shoulders.</p><p>"That was why there was blood in my nightmares…" she whispered nonchalantly. "It has replaced water…"</p><p>Takeru nodded. "And that's why everything's dead here. The blood has killed everything…"</p><p>The young man still stared at the sky after he said those words, he stared at those strange clouds soaring above the forest, covering any sign of an improbable existing sun. They looked so much like the dark water that a chill went through his spine. But, hopefully, God would be merciful enough for them not to be rain clouds of blood. But then again, they had entered the Dark Ocean, the most evil place of them all. He couldn't hope for anything…</p><p>Still with his arm embracing Hikari, he said, absent-minded, "It would be better for us to find out what's happening and leave this place as soon as possible… I have a bad feeling about this."</p><p>Kari, who was as scared as her best friend, just nodded. And, for some moments, the two teens just stood there, contemplating the place that would hold their scariest and most difficult adventure. I mean, they stood there until Takeru had a strange feeling that they were in danger and rushed them both to the grey forest, the only place that could hide them. Amazingly, his feeling was right, for right after they hided, a group of Digimon came out from a nearby patch of dead trees and marched right to where they had been before. They were Scubamon.</p><p>But they had also changed since the last time. The two best friends remembered that the Scubas had transformed into shadow creatures when they got rid of the Dark Emperor's servant and dark rings, but it seemed that they had devolved to that weaker form again. Something terrible must have happened since they went away, because the marine Digimon were also much thinner, famished and exhausted, and that particular group seemed to hold on to their harpoons with great difficulty, with sorrow, defeat and despair in their eyes. But they were still looking for the Child of Light, which meant that the search that had started five years ago was still going one, more desperate and urgent than ever…</p><p>The two Digidestined listened carefully as the head-Scuba of the group started talking…</p><p>"It seems that the Child of Light has already left… The Boss had already closed all the exits to keep her here until we find her, but we can't let her fall into the Gesomon's or the Bloodhunter's grip! Let's find her!"</p><p>And the rest of the group chanted in agreement, the same chanting Hikari would listen in her nightmares and they heard when they came in. After a while, the Scubamon organized themselves and left towards the forest, with the strong hope of finding Kari and be saved. T.K. and Kari waited until they were sure the others were long gone to talk again.</p><p>With all they learned since they entered that dreadful place, the two best friends knew they had to remain hidden until they had more information on the Dark Ocean and its inhabitants. Only after that they could decide what to do and how could they help.</p><p>So, as there was nothing besides the dark ocean of blood and the grey dead forest, they decided they would explore the forest first, always keeping an eye on the Scubamon. Sure T.K.'s "feeling" helped them that time, but they couldn't rely only on luck in that adventure. They were hopeful that it would end soon and so they entered the forest with a positive attitude. Poorly they know how wrong they were…</p><p>And so, as simply as that, hell begins…</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>[original notes, feb 2007]</p><p>Ta-dah! This is the end of another chapter… I'm sorry it is so short and I'm sorry it took me so long to update, but school has occupied most of my time these days… But I promise I'll write more every time I have some spare time and I won't abandon this story!</p><p>Besides that, I just want to tell that from the next chapter on, the story gets more interesting and the plot thickens at last! From now on, they will always be at the Dark Ocean!</p><p>Finally, I want to remind you to vote for what the second couple should be. Do you want this fic to be a Taiora, a Sorato or a Taito? The current results are:</p><p>Taiora: 13</p><p>Sorato: 16,5</p><p>Taito: 14</p><p>Keep voting people!</p><p>I have nothing else to say, but to wish you a good day!</p><p>kathlaida-princess logging out…</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. THE DEAD CITY</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>[original notes, july 2007]</p><p>Hello, dear readers! I know, I know, I haven't updated in more than… half a year sweat drops… But school had gone crazy on me again, I had loads of tests and homework and entire books to study and a whole set of complications to worry about… Thank God it's already summer vacations and I can get back to this now! I assure you I won't take this long to update now :).</p><p>Anyway, thank you Mike Kromer, Odat (oh, okay, no problem. I tried to add more fluff in this one, I hope you like it!), CRAZY WITH HAPPINESS (thank you for your many reviews! About the pancakes, it's my mom who makes them, but afterwards I cover them up with a thin layer of peanut butter and then with melted chocolate. They are really delicious this way and I love them! Anyway, I hope you like this chapter!), JyouraKoumi, Lord Pata, pinayangel528 (again, thank you so much for the many reviews! I hope you like this new chapter!), MysticalTears, Mr. A.S.A (. mais uma vez agradeço pelo comentário e espero sinceramente que tenhas recebido o e-mail e que gostes deste novo capítulo!), Shizuku Tsukishima749, Wish I Could Forget You, fullmetaltiger57, xazavier009 and PrincessOfHeartsNYP (isn't your name anyhow related to the game Kingdom Hearts? Because I love that game! I hope you like this chapter!) for your wonderful reviews! I owe all of this to you!</p><p>I really hope this chapter is worth the wait!</p><p>On with the story!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>CHAPTER 7<br/></strong>
  <strong>THE DEAD CITY</strong>
</p><p>Three days had already passed and a sea of grey tree corpses was still all the two best friends could see. They were hoping to find there a quick and efficient solution to make all those creatures stop chasing Kari as well as a way out of that dreadful place. However, the two young adults' stay there felt like a nightmare, like those horrible dreams where all you want is to wake up but you can't, and you have to see yourself die or do something terrible helplessly, and there wasn't a hint of a solution yet…</p><p>With that time, they had found that there was actually daytime and nighttime in that place, even though there wasn't light or color, and, with that time, they had found out how to tell one from the other.</p><p>Daytime was much calmer, much more monotonous, yet it had a thick aura of suspense, of expectation, it was filled with an omen that something disgraceful was about to come. It was the time where everything seemed lighter and clearer, but the absolute absence of any kind of sound was maddening and the lifelessness of it was felt painfully by the two Digi-destined. They couldn't feel the slightest breeze or air movement, but still they could find no warmth there and the cold made them feel almost completely useless and hopeless. The Scubamon came out to the dead forest during 'daytime' to look for them, armed with their sharp yet weakened harpoons and their will powered up only by despair. Another kind of creatures chased them too: the dark Gesomon, like the one that attacked Kari in her apartment. Both kinds of Digimon talked about a 'Boss' or a 'Master' respectively, but the squid-like ones seemed to be much better treated. T.K. wondered, were they sharing the same purpose? Again, it had been sheer luck and his new, strange yet frighteningly accurate instinct that made them walk past the dangerous creatures imperceptibly.</p><p>During nighttime, however, everything changed. During nighttime, the Dark Ocean made crystal-clear why it had deserved that name and showed all the evil it contained. The place would become pitch dark, Takeru and Hikari only knew they were with each other through touch and they had to remain ALWAYS somehow linked so that they wouldn't get lost, which was now a much scarier reality due to the rest of the horrors within that wicked alternate world. The air around them would suddenly get in motion and a powerful, terrifying, chill-inducing wind would brew, a wind that sounded like a scream of a dying being or the death sentence of a hideous creature, and that wind scared the hell out of the two best friends the first time they heard it, even though their heart beat was never perfectly normal during the following times either. There was even more to that place, though. Along with the wind's screeches, there was another kind of screaming filling the putrid, freezing air, the calling of yet another creature inhabiting the Dark Ocean, which seemed worse than the Scubamon or the dark Gesomon, which sounded a lot like a wolf's howl, although it had a touch of something supernatural in it. Takeru felt like he had no desire at all to face those creatures under any circumstances.</p><p>But still that wasn't the worst the Dark Ocean had to give during nighttime. As the mighty wind rushed and shrieked towards the gray forest, its movement brought something along with it: the shady clouds that soared high above the ocean of blood. They were dragged with the air's violent motion to the mainland and there they were able to pour down to the ground the worst of that place…</p><p>The two young adults found out about that terrible reality on the first night they spent there, while they penetrated into the forest, and while the little clarity it possessed started to fade away…</p><p>The Child of Hope noticed the increasing danger and brought the young woman beside him closer to him and felt her grip around his right hand tighten, as both of them started to understand that vision wouldn't do them good then and started relying on their sense of touch to feel the way they should follow.</p><p>However, their hearts only began to beat much faster when that breath-taking screaming invaded the complete blackness around them, and the two best friends felt helpless, trying to escape something they couldn't see.</p><p>Takeru felt afraid; much more scared than he was his entire life, but he almost didn't show it, while Kari was shivering intensively and almost sobbing. He had to be strong for her, he had to give her support and confidence, he couldn't let her lose hope. So, putting a arm around her shoulders and tightening the grip of his other hand around hers he whispered to her with the calmest voice he could come up, "Don't let them see you like this, don't be afraid, Kari… Everything will be fine… We just need to worry and find a good shelter now…"</p><p>In reply, the Child of Light nodded and put her other arm around her the blonde's waist, not wanting to let him go right then. "Let's go then…" her voice was still shaky, "Lead the way, Takeru…"</p><p>Nodding, the young man tried his best to see the right way, but it proved to be impossible. So, hoping his best that he was doing good, T.K. picked a random path and went for it, with Kari closely embraced to him, like a baby koala to its mother. Both of them hasted their pace when the second set of squeals appeared, but Kari eventually tripped over a root or a fallen branch of one of those dead trees and hurt her knee.</p><p>Hearing her groans of pain, Takeru blamed himself for making them walk too fast through the darkness and kneeled down in front of the Chosen One. "I'm so sorry, Kari, are you okay?" he asked in a worried and regretful tone.</p><p>"I'm fine, please, let's just keep going… I have a bad feeling about being here…"</p><p>Before thinking of a way to help her up again, T.K. tried his best to do something for Kari's injury, but it was too difficult when he couldn't even see his own hands moving. And he left completely that idea when a very different sound joined the others, a sound that was actually very familiar, and that shouldn't be an omen of such a tragedy like the one it proved to be there. It started as a distant sound, coming from far away. Then, it started to become louder, to approach… Noticing it too, the young woman sitting on the barren ground asked, "Is it… is it raining?"</p><p>Takeru was about to answer when it started pouring right on them, but it felt strange… it felt Dark-Ocean's-water-y strange… The same touch, the same smell. He had already suspected that, but he hoped it wasn't true. As if hoped worked on that damned place… The Child of Hope was quick to react though. Getting up all of a sudden and taking Kari gently yet rapidly in his arms he started to run, doing his best to prevent the rain from falling on his best friend, to prevent the blood rain from falling on his best friend…</p><p>The blonde didn't know exactly what he was doing though. Running like that, he could as easily be taking them to a safe place as to be heading towards danger itself. But of one thing he was sure: he wouldn't let the girl he loved be soaked in that cursed blood, he wouldn't let that place's tricks hurt her. And, eventually (and very luckily), they came to a big pile of rocks that formed a secluded cave and Takeru entered it, finding out that it was actually a very spacious shelter, and that there was even a curtain that blocked the entrance as well a small depression in the middle of it were they could light a fire.</p><p>The Child of Hope laid Kari gently on the floor, now that they were safe from the dangers outside, and took a box of matches from his backpack to light a small fire on the depression. Now that there was light, T.K. could see that there was a small pile of frail wooden sticks stashed away in one of the walls, and used some of it to feed the fire. Now that they could see each other, Takeru was now finally able to examine and treat Kari's wound. And the curtain was very helpful. That way, the only source of light in that entire forest wouldn't be spotted by any potential enemies.</p><p>The Child of Light, however, was a bit in an impasse. She still hadn't understood why Takeru ran away when the rain came and why he unexpectedly became that anxious in finding a shelter. But as the blonde returned to the backpack and came back to her with a first aid kit, Hikari finally noticed that he wasn't <em>that </em>blonde now anymore and finally realized why he acted like that. T.K.'s hair, as well as most of his clothes, was covered in the Dark Ocean's blood.</p><p>While he was placing a band-aid after cleaning the gash with some alcohol, Kari faced him and asked him in the most innocent tone she could use at the moment, "T.K., is that… is that blood in your hair? Was that what was raining? Blood?"</p><p>Takeru looked up to make eye contact with the brunette and found pure worry shinning off their crimson color. He couldn't lie to her…</p><p>"Yes, it was blood…" he heard Kari gasp, "But you don't have to worry about me, Kari!" he went on, bringing a reassuring hand to her cheek, "We have now much more to worry about, this will be nothing, you'll see."</p><p>But Hikari still wasn't convinced. "But you were protecting me from it, you know something bad will happen, that blood will do you harm, Takeru…"</p><p>But the Child of Hope merely shook his head and replied, this time adding a smile, "No, it won't, Kari. I'll be here with you, I'll be here where we are safe. Nothing bad will happen tonight, okay? What matters now is that we both made it here…"</p><p>The bearer of the Crest of Light was still worried about what kind of side effects that dreadful thing could bring to her best friend, but his words made her feel a bit better. She knew she could trust him and she knew she would be there if something DID happen, just like he was always there for her.</p><p>After he was done with the wound treatment, he still kept his smile on and said, "Well, guess time we'll need to be a bit more careful about running around in really dark places. I'll prepare the sleeping bags and let's try to get some rest. Which I think it won't be easy… this noise gives me the creeps…"</p><p>And so he did.</p><p>However, just like Kari suspected, the blood did have some terrible side effects, and those became noticeable in the middle of the night, with Takeru's behavior.</p><p>The night was terrible. While Kari managed to fall asleep even with all the noise and even though her dreams weren't perfect, they were bearable, Takeru had it the worst. He did fall asleep, but he was anything but in peace. Lying inside his sleeping bag, the Child of Hope would twist and turn, haunted by the most terrible nightmares, pursued by the wicked demons within his own mind. He would occasionally scream in despair and that was what woke Hikari up. Worry written all across her face, she rushed towards him and placed a hand over his forehead, noticing that his entire body was covered in a cold sweat. Kari tried to wake him, but she couldn't do it… She thought of only one thing she could do to ease his pain: the Child of Light laid down right beside her best friend and, like he would do if he were awake, hoped that it would do him any good, wrapping her arms closely around his cold, shivering body.</p><p>But things didn't change and Takeru remained in that restless state of sleep. Near to despair, Kari started blaming the blood covering his hair, and started blaming herself for having let him take it all. However, there was something she could do, something quite easy, in fact.</p><p>Although feeling a bit reluctant in leaving him to his nightmares like that, Hikari got up, but only after a final and hopefully comforting hug and a quick yet caring peck on his forehead. The fire had already gone out and so everything was pitch dark, but she felt her way to their backpacks and inside them she found what she was looking for: water. Again carefully, she went back to the blonde's sleeping bag and tried to wake him up one more time, being unsuccessful once more. It looked like the inner monsters induced by the cursed blood trapped the young man inside his own illusions and that Kari had to do that with Takeru still sleeping.</p><p>The young woman reached for something that resembled some sort of container, and eventually found a big dry log near the pile of wooden sticks, a log that looked a lot like a rectangular bowl. Quick in her actions, Kari opened the bottle of water and half-filled the log with the transparent liquid, bringing it closer to T.K. and finally lifting his aching head gently.</p><p>Keeping a nervous and fragile hand still under Takeru's head, Hikari used the other one to soak his hair with the water in the log, cleaning off the cursed blood, which was still giving him a hard time. It took her about five minutes to take it off completely, but when she was finally over, she pushed the log away and used her shirt to dry the blonde hair the most she could, trying to wake him yet one more time.</p><p>This time, however, he did wake up, and the brunette never forgot the sheer panic she caught on Takeru's eyes the moment he opened them. He was still panting heavily when he came back to reality, and a part of him was still sobbing, haunted by the dreadful illusions…</p><p>Kari could do nothing but involve him in her tired arms kindly, trying her best to let him know that everything would be fine, that it was nothing but bad dreams, really bad dreams caused by the blood covering his head. The young man held onto his best friend fiercely, some of the scariest images still chasing him, but with time and the bearer of Light's presence, Takeru felt much better and stopped crying, however blaming himself for having let her alone in that difficult situation.</p><p>Still tightly hugged to Hikari, the Child of Hope said apologetically, "I'm so sorry, Kari, for making you go through all that trouble… and thank you, for helping me…"</p><p>"Oh, come on, don't say that…" the brunette replied, "You would have done the same for me, so it was no trouble at all… Now, like you said before, let's get some sleep. Tomorrow's gonna be a rough day."</p><p>He nodded and they let go, both getting inside their own sleeping bag, although they had brought them closer to each other, since that proximity was the only thing that gave them a feeling of safety in that horrid place.</p><p>However, when Kari was close to sleep, she heard Takeru say in a muffled tone of voice, "I love you, Hikari…"</p><p>The young woman was startled at first and felt like she was blushing. But her mind regained its composure quickly and she KNEW he was meaning that as a friend, even though both knew clearly that he wasn't.</p><p>"I love you too, Takeru…"</p><p>But they were both so blind and stubborn that they were unable to see it…</p><p>At least the rest of the night was peaceful for them, blood-rains and creatures screaming aside…</p><p>The following morning, the two best friends woke up at nearly the same time, after only three hours of sleep. However, it would be then that they would find out one of the Dark Ocean's great mysteries: why was that blood so dangerous?</p><p>While they were packing their sleeping bags to resume their journey, Kari took an accidental glance at the log she used the night before to contain the water and noticed something strange. There was no water inside the log anymore, there was only blood. She headed towards the log and touched the liquid to be sure, and she it was true. The water had disappeared completely.</p><p>Still tying his sleeping bag and his backpack together, Takeru watched his best friend head towards the log and felt confused. "What is it, Kari?" he asked.</p><p>"It's weird…" she started. "Yesterday, I used this water to wash the blood off your hair, and now all the water seems to… have transformed into blood too…"</p><p>A frown appeared on T.K.'s forehead as he finished his task and joined Hikari. He was bothered with what she said, it would be terrible if it were true. He mixed the disgusting liquid with one of the grey wooden sticks nearby and touched it afterwards too. It sure felt the same like the ocean's blood and there was nothing watery in it. However, he still hoped that that place wouldn't be that evil as to absorb water completely and fetched the same bottle of water Kari used from his backpack, draining some of it in his hands, forming a small pond in them.</p><p>"Kari, could you drop some of that blood in this water, please?" he asked.</p><p>"Sure," she replied immediately, realizing what he was about to do. The brunette also removed some of the blood from the log with her hands and dropped it in Takeru's, watching what was about to happen…</p><p>In a matter of seconds, the crimson liquid spread entirely across the water contained in the blonde's hands, making it lose all its characteristic transparency and become as putrid as the fluid which contaminated it in the first place. So it was true. That blood did transform water into blood.</p><p>"Gross…" Kari stated. "That's why… that's why we haven't seen any water yet…"</p><p>Takeru nodded. "And that's why they need our help so desperately. All of them, this place; they're all dying without water. We have to be careful with this blood, I'm sure this is also why I had such problems sleeping last night. Imagine what this will do to our inner water…"</p><p>Hikari nodded too, scared a little overwhelmed with that new reality. Obviously, she didn't hide that fear well, because a strong arm went around her shoulder and laid there, trying to bring her some comfort.</p><p>"Don't worry so much, Kari…" T.K. went on, "We'll just need to find shelter whenever night starts to fall. And, most important of all, we can't lose faith, we have to keep on going, or we'll never be able to sort this out. Come on, woman, a want to see a smile!"</p><p>Hikari looked up at the man she cared the most in the world and did manage to smile, a genuine smile. He was the Child of Hope, after all. If there was anyone who could make her see a silver lining in that dark cloud, it was him.</p><p>And so the two young adults went on with their exploration, escaping the monsters and the rain, although nothing special happened for the next two days.</p><p>This means that three days had already passed since they arrived at the Dark Ocean, three days with no hints of solutions or of where they were, only terrible discoveries. What seemed to be a simple problem was now turning into a much more difficult situation, like the pure water transforming into that decaying blood. True they still had supplies for a LONG time, but that place would drive them crazy slowly, and they wanted that solved as fast as possible.</p><p>However, around midday of the third day, something did happen, when the two best friends found a water spring, which had been affected by the blood rain and had been destroyed… Right beside it, was the first living being they contacted there: an elder Scubamon, which seemed to be in a very bad state.</p><p>The two young adults rushed in his help, noting that he had indeed his life at stake. The marine Digimon was very old, he looked very thin and weak, and seemed to be dangerously dehydrated. He was lying on the sterile ground, he could only move with great effort and his voice came out forceful when he said agonizingly, "The… the Chosen… One… is here… Help us, child… help us all…"</p><p>Kari said nothing in reply but Takeru stepped forth, trying to hold the Scubamon in his arms while saying, "Let us help you then, sir. Where can we find help here?"</p><p>The ancient creature was still looking at Kari, but he then put a trembling finned hand on T.K.'s shoulder and glared him in the eye, replying, "You… you can help her… you can help us all… Together… you can change this place…"</p><p>Kari was still in that impasse, not knowing what to do or what to say. On the other hand, the Child of Hope didn't move his eyes away and asked the Scubamon, "Tell us how, then… How can we help?"</p><p>The creature merely brought the other finned hand to his neck and started panting heavily. Takeru looked him over and noticed that he was covered in dry blood, and he had several wounds on the side of the body: biting marks. Rapidly, the blonde turned to Kari and said, "Quick, Kari, get some water! I think he spent the entire night in the rain!"</p><p>The young woman was fast in her actions and brought the same bottle of water to her best friend thirty seconds later, but still said nothing. Takeru gave the water gently to the Scubamon and he seemed to feel slightly better, even though he was still in very bad conditions. However good it was, water alone couldn't fight an entire rain of blood and those injuries. But the marine creature spoke up again, and answered, "I can't help you now… nor can I be helped in this state… But I can show you my late village, and you can get help there… Take me, please, I can show you the way…"</p><p>Takeru and Hikari made eye contact for a moment and then nodded. The young man took the digital creature in his arms and helped him get a firm grip around his back. It would be easy for him to carry him, for the Digimon was quite small and light. Making sure the Scubamon could see the way, they kept on going, following the elder's directions…</p><p>Both the young adults couldn't tell how the injured creature knew the way, for everything seemed alike to them, but truth is they arrived to an opening in the forest a couple of hours later, an opening which revealed the ruins of a city, a city as dead as the rest of the Dark Ocean…</p><p>There wasn't even one intact building, every construction was either partially or completely destroyed, almost every stone-made house lacked its roof and some of the bigger buildings were missing one or more walls. Not to mention that most of them had gained a darker tone, the same grayish shade of the blood ocean itself.</p><p>Her heart heavy with anger and sadness at all the desolation she saw, Hikari spoke for the first time in quite a while to ask, "You used to live here?"</p><p>The Scubamon held an expression of complete neutrality upon his face, since he was already used to see that misery, and so he merely nodded, saying, "Yes, but then the rain took the river away and the Bloodhunters came… Our leader still tried to fight them, but we were defeated… Many of us ran away… Many found a new village to live… Many, like me, got lost from the rest of the group and were left to die…"</p><p>Without even noticing it, a stray tear escaped Kari's eye and she could say nothing else. Takeru saw her crying and laid the elder down in what looked like a wide stone table, stretching an arm to grab her hand and bring her closer to him. But he also asked the marine Digimon, "And how many villages are still there?"</p><p>"Three, the last time we spoke, but only one of them is strong enough to face the Dark Master's servants. The others will eventually fall. Even though the strong one will fall too, if you," he pointed to Kari, "don't find a way to help us all…"</p><p>Another tear fell from the young woman's eyes but T.K. maintained his grip around her. He asked, "The Dark Master? His servants? The Gesomon and those creepy howling creatures? But how, how can Kari help you?"</p><p>The Scubamon made a little pause to recover some energy and then he answered slowly, "Yes, the rightful ruler of all the Dark Ocean, and yes, the Gesomon and the Bloodhunters, His servants… She has to use her Light to eliminate the Darkness, she has to give her power to one of us to use it… She has to make the right choice…"</p><p>"But I need to know who the right choice is!" Kari squealed. "Tell me why you want me here, tell me how I can help, tell me what happened here!"</p><p>The marine Digimon looked the Light Bearer in the eye with great respect and took some time to answer her. He could see how distressed she was, he could sense her despair. "I have little time, but if you are to help us, you'll have to know the story and so I'll start from the beginning." He took a deep breath. "When I was younger, when my parents and grandparents were still alive, this place was nothing like this. The ocean was of clear, warm, pure water and all kinds of beautiful and harmless Digimon and fish would swim in it. The sun would shine down on us, would warm our world and would provide us with good food. The beach had white, soft warm sand and the lighthouse was tall, white and was full of cute drawings from our children. At night it would shine the brightest light, it would guide the ones who had visited our Master to the beach safely. The forest was green and luxurious, many kinds of friendly Digimon lived in it and our kind lived in a big, beautiful city near the beach, or inside our Master's palace. There were no Bloodhunters, there were no dark Gesomon, nor enemies. We had many visitors, though, and they loved being here. Our Master was merciful and kind, a good leader and a lover of His people. He lived in His palace, a giant seashell in the bottom of the ocean. He never let us down. But then Darkness found its way to this place, and found a way to change it completely… It started by affecting our Master, He became more brutal, more violent, He wasn't Himself… We, the Scubamon that were living in the palace, first noticed it when He started attacking the visitors, or sending us to attack them. He would say that they only wanted to ruin this place and steal its beauty. But then He changed his appearance, as if He were attacked by a virus. He started using His powers to do the most horrendous things! We knew of it and knew we had to stop Him, we knew we had to put a halt to it. We weren't successful, though. He was far more powerful than us and when He found out of our betrayal, He expelled us all from His palace. Only a few females, serving Him as cooks or maids, still remain there. After that, we still tried to make Him return to His old self with the help with our brothers of the beach, but our Master had become too strong for any of us to face Him… Many of us were lost in those battles… With all those attacks to the palace, we only aggravated the situation. Our Master wouldn't protect us anymore and we would have to be careful if we wanted to fish in the ocean, for He had created the Gesomon as His main guard. This division made us very vulnerable to the enemies that started coming. The darkness kept on affecting us and killed the sun, making us lose our beautiful colors. That was when they started calling this place the 'Dark Ocean'. We also began to realize that this place had become a meeting point of darkness, since many seriously distressed people started appearing here out of nowhere, and we started to feed on the still remaining light of those people to survive. We ourselves started to change too, into something that was frighteningly very alike a shadow. One of those people, however, would cause us many problems when he discovered how to come here at will…"</p><p>"The Dark Emperor," Kari answered. "Ken…"</p><p>The Scubamon nodded, "Yes, he had made us, Scubamon, his servants with those Dark Rings, but he never found our Master, nor did He help us anyway…"</p><p>"That was when you called Kari for the first time, wasn't it?" Takeru asked.</p><p>"Yes," the elder replied, "We had finally located the one from the prophecy and so we used our little strength left to call her. Unfortunately, we all know how that went… We wanted to use her power to stop our Master, but we failed… And because of that, this place is now like this… Our Master knew that the Child of Light had entered this place and he too sought your power. He began to see us as a rival and did His best to terminate us all… With His new dark magic, He created the Bloodhunters, the most horrid creatures in the Digimon World, and He sent them to the forest to kill us all…"</p><p>"And because of that you have to live inside the forest…"</p><p>The marine Digimon nodded again and went on, "The monsters were designed to detect blood through a special kind of sight, a kind of X-ray vision, and there is little that can stop them. They say that the ocean changed to cursed blood because of all the innocent victims the Bloodhunters made in behalf of our Master. Those were the worst moments of my life, to see all the ones I've known to be killed, tortured, ravaged by the monsters' jaws. They had a sick pleasure in killing and it was never pretty to see it. I just pray you never have the bad fortune to cross paths with one of them… Anyway, because of it, the blood rains began and the water disappeared, reducing our numbers even more… Darkness has increased too, and as you can see this place has gone from bad to worse, close to the brink of destruction… In a last resort, we called for you again, Chosen One, but our Master found out and he kept you locked in here. Only you can help us now, only you can use your power to save us… And you don't have much time… Neither we nor our Master will be able to survive for much longer in this damned place…"</p><p>Those last few sentences touched Hikari's heart deeply, and she wanted to do something for that place desperately. Letting two more tears roll down across her cheeks, she asked one final question, "What do I have to do?"</p><p>The Scuba elder was already visibly tired, he surely didn't have much time. But he made another huge effort and spoke up, "We Scubamon have an ancient prophecy, a prophecy that told about these times of need. It said that should Darkness befall this place, Light must come to the ones who always fought for its salvation, even turning against the mighty to reach this goal. According to this prophecy, of course we are the right choice, but I must say, this isn't the real prophecy. We don't have the capacity or the abilities to control the Crest of Light. If we had it, this place would return to normal for one week, the most, only to come back to this state afterwards… No matter what they say, Child of Light, you shall not give the Scubamon your power… You'll have to search for the real prophecy…"</p><p>Kari was now a bit overwhelmed with all the information, and so she asked in a low tone of voice, "And where might said prophecy be?"</p><p>"It was lost a long time ago, when everyone realized that acquiring the Crest of Light was the solution to our problems and everyone invented their own prophecy. You'll have to find it on your own, child…"</p><p>"But if…" Takeru said, "but if the Scubamon aren't the right choice and if there are only two kinds of Digimon here, then the right choice must be you Master! Yes, if the Light touches Him, He will return to His previous state…"</p><p>However, the dying Digimon shook his tadpole-like head vigorously. A supernatural and dreadful shadow could be seen lurking the bottom of his eyes, the shadow of death… "That's not true, our Master only wants the Light for the power, of that I'm certain… He can't have the Light, or everything will still become worse…"</p><p>"Then, who? Who is the right choice?" Kari asked quickly. They only had a few more minutes with the Scubamon left, if that much…</p><p>"I… I don't know… But there's a library in this village, with many useful books. It might not be in the best conditions, but it was a resistant building. You might find help in one of those books… We Scubamon forgot how to read a long time ago. The circumstances made us spend our time in other activities…" The elder started coughing compulsively and some of the curse blood started coming out from his mouth. It seemed that it had consumed the poor creature's body entirely and painfully and the Digimon was now about to receive the sweet release of death… With his eyes now almost completely covered in that shadow, the elder Scubamon held Kari's hands in his cold, finned ones and stated, "Please, don't give up, child, and please find the real prophecy to save us all… You are clearly not alone in this journey, and I'm sure every single one of us has faith in your choice. Save this place, Chosen One, change it into the paradise it once was… And thank you, for being here now…"</p><p>Having no words to say, the brunette merely held the marine Digimon's hands closely and saw him fade away as the data that formed him was taken away by an invisible flow, a flow that led to the Primary Village and, hopefully, to a happier life for the Scubamon…</p><p>Now that she knew exactly what everyone was expecting from her, she felt a wave of insecurity and fear engulfing her, and she completely broke down in tears.</p><p>Already knowing exactly was going though his best friend's mind, T.K. rushed to hug her and rocked her gently in his arms, kissing the top of her head to make her feel calmer. He felt in his heart the pain she was going through at the moment, and would do anything to make it go away, but he knew it had been her decision to come to that place, so he knew he would help her overcome hat obstacle the best he could.</p><p>"I'm… I'm n-not gonna make it, Takeru…" Hikari stuttered between sobs. "I just can't… I'm gonna let them all down…"</p><p>But the blonde replied with a serious tone, "And since when you're alone in this madhouse? WE'RE gonna make it, Kari, and of that you can be sure. Heck, it won't be easy and this sure will be the worst adventure we'll have to live, but hey, we're together, and I won't let you throw in the towel just like that and let this place self-destruct! Together, we're going to that library and we'll find that god-forsaken prophecy and we'll make this all right! And if we don't find it now, we'll at least be closer to it, and if we hold on together I am sure we'll find it! Now, Kari, do you trust me?"</p><p>The Child of Light stopped sobbing for a while and replied, her head buried in the other's chest, "I do, T.K., I do trust you…"</p><p>"Then, let's get going, we are wasting too much time!" he said, letting her go and stepping away. He put on a genuine smile, though, and stretched out an arm in an invitation.</p><p>Kari looked with red puffy eyes from his smile to his stretched arm and then to his smile again. Then, grinning slightly too, she put her hand in his while asking, "What have I done to deserve you, Takeru?"</p><p>They walked together in search of the old library when he replied, "I really don't know… Maybe the fact of you being terribly beautiful helps."</p><p>The brunette let out a chuckle and blushed deeply, punching him playfully in the arm. Victory, she was laughing again… And with that small battle won they stepped forward to face another, a much bigger one…</p><p>It took them less than five minutes to find the ruins of the old library, and to notice that it was indeed in very good conditions, even though it wasn't that big. The two best friends rushed inside and looked for the books that might be of some interest, and stuffed them inside their backpacks. It was an arduous job, but they managed to do it…</p><p>Takeru, however, brought with him something that wasn't in the list, but that his new instinct made believe he would need afterwards: a long, really sharp rock. Nevertheless, he put it in one of his pockets just in case.</p><p>Once Hikari was ready with her own books, the two young adults went out of the library again and prepared themselves to look for a good shelter to spend the night and starting reading them. However, outside there was something that made them change their plans. There was an entire group of armed and famished Scubamon surrounding them, a group that wasn't nearly as friendly as the elder. Both T.K. and Kari knew they couldn't be captured now, both of them knew they had to make a decision alone. So, it was while the harpoon-bearing Digimon approached that Takeru held his best friend's hand and started running away, through a fortunate hole in the creatures' formation.</p><p>The feeling of freedom wouldn't last much, though, for the Scubamon ran after them and seemed to be much faster not to mention that they knew the forest much better. Eventually, one of them used a special attack to make them trip over and the circle of marine creatures tightened up around the two human teens, leaving them with no non-deadly escapes. They still had their hands given though, and T.K. wouldn't let Kari go that easily. Not even when the Scubamon were close enough to touch did the Child of Hope give up nor let his friend's hand go. In fact, he struggled so hard against the armed Digimon that someone hit him in the head.</p><p>The last thing Takeru heard and saw was Kari screaming his name and then everything went pitch-black.</p><p>"<em>So, where is the Child now</em><em>?" </em>a dragged, scary voice asked.</p><p>"I think… I think the Scubamon captured her, Master…" a much more frightened voice replied.</p><p>The anger inside the owner of the first voice could be felt growing and it shouted, "<em>THE LIGHT WAS CAPTURED? Then do something about it, my imbecile! Unleash more Bloodhunters, make sure they raid every village and kill every single one of them except the Child! I won't tolerate any more failures!"</em></p><p>The owner of the second voice merely bowed and left. The Master of the Dark Ocean, however, remained and was quite irritated about the situation.</p><p>"<em>The Child of Light will be mine this time and I will finally be the supreme ruler of this place… Nothing will stop me now…"</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>[original notes, july 2007]</p><p>Weee, I finally finished this chapter!</p><p>Once again, I'm so, so sorry for making you wait this long… I really hope this was worth waiting…</p><p>Anyway, keep on voting for the second couple of the fic! Should this be a Taiora, a Sorato, or a Taito?</p><p>Current results:</p><p>Taiora – 24</p><p>Sorato – 16,5</p><p>Taito – 14</p><p>Since I'm on summer holidays now, I will update sooner this time! A good day for everyone!</p><p>kathlaida-princess logging out…</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. A DIFFICULT SITUATION…</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>[original notes, april 2008]</p><p>Hi everyone! Yes, it has been a long while, and it is my duty to apologize to you all, for not being able to update sooner… Damn school! Anyway, here I am, and with the 8th chapter of this (hopefully) exciting story! First of all, let me thank all my beloved reviewers: Micky, Jack, Wish I Could Forget You, Odat (more stuff will be revealed in this chapter, I promise! And sure, I'll try to add more dialogue! ).), Lord Pata, KoumiLoccness, Xanpluto (thanks a lot! ), pinayangel528, Larry, Nicky, Kie (it means someone has given half a vote to Sorato), Fred, Ryan, Carlos, Benny, J.J., A.J., Jenny, Robert, shawn, Landon (please read Kie's reply for an answer), Josh, Mr. A.S.A (desistir, não. ) Posso demorar é muito tempo a actualizar, com a escola a ocupar a maior parte do meu tempo... Mas sim, continuarei a avisar sempre que escrever mais! Mais uma vez, muito obrigada pelo inspirador comentário!), Peter, Jackie, PrincessOfHeartsNYP, Hikari Yagami 24 (it's okay. And thank you for the reviews!), Obnixus Patronus Tolerantius, Zucchinimon, Summergirl54, neshia, BushWacker (as I said, everything is okay... It's just my school occupies a lot of my time these days :( ), RainehFireh (thank you ), Daphne Ishida, and JadedTruth. If you're reading this, it means you've stuck with me till now and I thank you loads for that! I truly hope this new chapter is of your liking!</p><p>Now, on with the story! :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>CHAPTER 8<br/></strong>
  <strong>A DIFFICULT SITUATION…</strong>
</p><p>He didn't know exactly for how long that peculiar yet strangely pleasant state of unconscious darkness lasted, with grave scratchy voices echoing through the blackness, but he knew perfectly he had to leave that state quickly, although the feeling that he was out of that hell for once was quite tempting for him.</p><p>However, the Child of Hope opened his eyes suddenly, finding out he was still in the dead city, finding out that he was still tied up with frail threads of string that pathetically tried to make up for ropes, but also that he wasn't alone…</p><p>Of course Kari was right next to him (and thank God he could hear her breathe safe and soundly), their hands wrapped together with a rope, their backs against each other, but there was also a wide circle of the same Scubamon that attacked them around them, their harpoons all pointed to them like a spiky crown the two friends had to wear involuntarily. Takeru noticed they were waiting for someone… and that someone appeared almost immediately.</p><p>As steps began to be heard, progressively louder, the aggressive circle around the two friends loosened, their harpoons standing harmless by their side and now gathering in front of Kari only. Takeru found this weird, as if the sea creatures were simply ignoring him now. But his thoughts were cut off when the creature stepping forward finally came to view.</p><p>It was a Scubamon like the others, but this one was much more impressive. T.K. had to make some effort and turn his head around to see him properly (for his attention was all focused on the Child of Light) but he was able to notice, right at the first sight, that he was almost one foot taller than the others, his water-adapted body looked much stronger and better-treated and his expression was much more fearful. But upon closer examination, there was something else about this Scubamon: his eyes, the Child of Hope knew they would be the same color as his if there was color in that damned place, and deep down there was a powerful sense of hope inside them. The blonde wondered if this was the famous 'Boss' the other Scubamon kept talking about in the two friends' journey.</p><p>But there wasn't much time to further his examination because the creature came closer to Kari and asked, "So this is the Child of Light... We've been looking for you, but we weren't expecting to find you here... I guess we were lucky."</p><p>Once again, Takeru felt completely ignored, as if those creatures could only see his best friend, such was their greed, but that didn't mean he couldn't do something to free them both, especially because he could feel that the other's speech wouldn't have a happy ending... And there was something else besides Hikari's hands concealed in his own: a particularly sharp rock that his instincts advised him to take before they were captured. A plan already in mind, the Child of Hope began to use it to cut the ropes bonding them, the most discretely he could.</p><p>"Anyway, you are here for one reason. And you probably know what it is already..." the 'Boss' went on.</p><p>Kari, noticing that T.K. was doing something that involved damaging the ropes, immediately thought of something to give him time. So, she replied, the most calmly she could, "Yeah, I know... you want me to choose between yourselves and your 'Master', you want me to choose the one who will get my power, my Light. You want me to choose the one who is going to save this Godforsaken place… and because of that, you had to bring me here…"</p><p>And Takeru had already cut the rope around the two friends' hands when the tall Scubamon said, smiling, "Very well, Chosen One. You seem to be very well-informed about our situation here… Good to know. This means I can cut to the chase and ask you what I really want to know: who are you going to choose?"</p><p>Hikari remained silent for quite a while, thinking about a proper answer that wouldn't get her and T.K. killed. In the meanwhile, the Child of Hope had just started cutting the string tying him up and still had to work on Kari's. Both of them wondered how the other creatures didn't notice anything, but they didn't complain. After all the thinking was done, the Light-bearer answered, the same calm in her voice, the truth, "Well, I can tell you I would never choose your Master. I've heard too many bad things about Him to even consider Him a choice. Of that you can be certain…"</p><p>The 'Boss' and the Scubamon were happy to hear that and commented to each other that things would be better soon, cutting the silent with some excited chanting. Takeru was startled by one of those happy shrieks and let the sharp rock fall to the ground. Fortunately, the sea Digimon didn't notice anything, but the blonde still had to catch the rock… So, Kari spoke again, bringing silence again and focusing all the attention in her again.</p><p>"But… I don't think I can't choose you either… You wouldn't be able to handle my power…" All the faces now showed a shocked expression. T.K. managed to get the rock and resumed the cutting, now faster, sensing that their plan had to come to action really soon. And the angry group was about to begin a dangerous discussion when Kari cut them off again.</p><p>"Wait, wait! Please do not be too hasty! I really want you to understand my decision…" the Child of Light pleaded, thinking of a lie that gave T.K. time… The group had calmed down a bit, wanting to hear what else she had to say. "You know, back in Earth, there was a leader that was faced with a situation very similar to this one, and he made a decision… An unpopular decision that no one accepted… Because of that, the leader had only one thing to do…"</p><p>One of the Scubamon asked, visibly curious, "What? What did he do?"</p><p>By this time, all ropes were loose and Takeru squeezed Hikari's hands in his to show her they were ready… And so she said, "The leader… HE RAN AWAY!"</p><p>And with this the two best friends got up in a leap, making the ropes hastily fall to the ground they were sitting, and ran as fast as they legs could take them, still hands given, a rush of sheer adrenaline also running inside them. They didn't know where to go, but they kept going. Inside the forest, they could find a place to hide more easily.</p><p>In the meanwhile, the dumbfounded group of warriors hurried to pursue the two young adults as soon as their 'Boss' yelled them too, he too chasing after them. The Scubamon were fast and knew the place better than the two Digi-destined, and started throwing their harpoons at their legs, wanting to bring them down. But the two friends kept on going, sometimes using a decrepit wall to defend themselves or throwing rocks back at the attackers, their rushing hearts showing them the right direction.</p><p>But there was something strange happening: whenever a loose harpoon managed to escape their distraction maneuvers and was about to hit them, a thin and odd aura seemed to surround the two best friends and stopped the attack. And whenever that happened, the D-3s they carried, as well as the crests over their chests, would light up for a second. T.K. and Kari paid no more attention to this, but it was probably because of that little miracle that the two of them were able to escape their pursuers inside the forest and to go on with that journey unharmed.</p><p>Now panting heavily while sitting against a gray, dead tree, Takeru and Hikari thought no more of those events and started wondering what to do now, when every single race of the Dark Ocean was after them, but not to invite them to a friendly cup of digi-tea… They only had to choices, and both of them seemed to be wrong... The Scubamon were wrong for sure, but what about their Master?</p><p>Kari gave voice to those complicated questions, and the blonde boy next to her merely replied, "We still have those books with us. That old Scuba said they might be some use to find that right choice. It's the only lead we have, we ought to use it."</p><p>The Child of Light was surprised at the cool way T.K. managed to handle these chaotic situations (even though she knew he was as afraid and desperate as she was) and so she simply nodded, happy to have him there with her, that source of energy.</p><p>But that moment of solace soon ended, when the two young adults got up again and resumed their journey, noticing more than even the hideousness of that place, the horribly long task ahead of them and the sky becoming darker as night fell once again…</p><hr/><p>Several more days passed by and the situation was exactly the same, if not worse. The two best friends found a good hideout (away from the many dangers there and peaceful enough to allow them to read) and didn't want to move out of it at all during those days, but they were obliged to.</p><p>Although needing to be sedentary, they had to keep moving, for they had three types of Digimon (at least they thought they were Digimon) chasing them. So, they had to leave that good shelter, even though they would return there whenever they could.</p><p>There were several encounters with the Scubamon, who seemed very angry about having been so humiliated, but T.K. and Kari were able to remain hidden every time.</p><p>The black Gesomon were after the Digi-destined too, however not so often, but they were easy to dodge. But whenever the Gesomon appeared, at night, the mysterious howling and screeching would increase and T.K. and Kari could almost feel the horrible creatures making that as if they were right next to them.</p><p>Takeru remembered the old Scuba talking about them, the Bloodhunters, and the thing that worried him the most was the fact that their group was getting closer and closer to them everyday. The Child of Hope didn't want to know what was going to happen when the Bloodhunters finally found them...</p><p>The two young adults were surviving the Dark Ocean alright, but it came with a heavy price... They might have great perseverance, but the results of their effort weren't that good. The books they took from the library told nothing new about the Scubamon history and whenever the prophecy was mentioned, it was about the fake version, the version those sea Digimon invented. And the books kept saying that the Dark Master wasn't the right choice... There were still some books left to read, but the two friends felt so frustrated that every empty page they turned felt like a piece of their heart crumbling down.</p><p>Then, there was the nightmares, the blood rains, the cold, the darkness... And Takeru had them the worst. Kari would wake up every night to find her best friend always trembling because of the same sharp cold, moaning and suffering from the same hideous nightmares, affected by the terrible darkness that the wind seemed to bring with it... Even though they escaped the blood rain, that darkness would always get to them, enter them, make them remember their worst moments. That's why maybe T.K. had those nightmares the worst... His parents divorce, his loneliness, his lack of friends... Kari wanted to help him, but there was no way to do that... And T.K. wished he were stronger, so that he didn't have to worry Kari... Despite his problems, he was the one making sure Kari was completely okay, giving her his food, his warm blanket, his hope. Sadness filled both of their hearts.</p><p>Many other things made them feel miserable too. They felt dirty, tired, they were constantly tormented by a powerful headache and, besides that, the food, and water they brought with them was beginning to fall to the death tendency of that place... Takeru and Hikari wished with all that strength for ANYTHING to happen. Anything that would take them out of that impasse and would lead them to a way out of that dreadful place.</p><p>And today was no different.</p><p>The two best friends had found a nice cave near a small pond of clear water and were using it as a shelter. It was almost nighttime and they had divided the stack of the remaining books in two. The two of them were reading, but at some point Kari couldn't handle the same hopeless repetitive words any longer and decided to give into despair.</p><p>The also despaired blonde comforted her the best he could, assuring her everything would be fine, but not even himself believed his own words... Hikari went to sleep earlier and Takeru offered to finish reading her books, which Kari refused with much fuss but T.K. ended up doing it all the same.</p><p>When she fell asleep, T.K. covered her with his own warm blanket too, knowing that his heart wouldn't feel alright if he didn't do so. He moved a stray lock of hair away from her gorgeous face but his fingers took their time feeling the smoothness of her hair, of her skin.</p><p>The blue-eyed young man read his own books and hers just to find out nothing new, but at least they were now free again to explore, to find any other clues.</p><p>T.K. went to sleep too, but he was shivering, without any blankets to protect him from the wind's freezing embrace. Once again, Kari's heart warned her that her best friend wasn't well at all and so she did what she knew was right. She came closer to him and put her arms around him, with the two warm blankets over them. It was probably her way to say thank you and, to Takeru, it felt like home.</p><p>Snuggled and held close by Kari's arms and the soft touch of the fabric was enough physical and psychological warmth for Takeru to fight the Dark Ocean's cold. And the two friends slept with the first involuntary smile in what seemed like ages while the world lost all its clarity and the same supernatural howl began to be heard once again, closer than ever...</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>[original notes, april 2008]</p><p>Weee! Another chapter finished! And after so long I have found an incredible will to write! Thank you all so much for having stuck with me this long and I hope this was of your liking! If you're reviewing, please vote for the secondary couple: Taiora, Sorato or Taito? Here are the results...</p><p>Taiora – 27</p><p>Sorato – 35,5</p><p>Taito – 24</p><p>See ya next chapter (which will be an important one!)!</p><p>kathlaida-princess logging out...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. THE CAPTURE</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>[original notes, june 2008]</p><p>Hello, dear readers! Hopefully, this time I've updated much sooner than before and I can tell, with pride, that I've finished the plans to this fic too! It'll be 22 chapters long, the rating is M just to make sure (although there will be some scenes that will probably require an M rating) and I will include Koumi, Kenyako (Ken X Yolie, I'm not sure if this is how you spell it…) and hints of PataGato in this story too! Either way, I want to thank Lord Pata (lol, I guess they are worse than blind. Thank you for not giving up reading this and for having reviewed so fast!), joeshen (thank you!), Anon, Odat (hopefully, the update is sooner this time!), Wish I Could Forget You, KoumiLoccness (there will be Koumi, around chapter 16! :) I just didn't include it in the voting process because it is completely decided. It won't be much, but there will be Koumi), PrincessOfHeartsNYP (yeah, I try to focus on how much they have in common when it comes to problems about darkness and I'm glad you noticed that. Thank you a lot for the review and I hope this one is bigger than the other!), Jack, Kie (you're welcome!), pinayangel158 (thank you for noticing the mistake! And yeah, the main reason why they didn't chase them right away was because they weren't expecting T.K. to do something to take Kari away (since they had been ignoring him) and sorry if that didn't get through well ; And thank you for thinking it was a realistic plan, I had to go over it many times before I thought it was reasonably okay, so I'm glad you think so! Thank you loads for the review!), PIRATEofHOGWARTS (hum, I guess it would leave a mark, but since they are so worried about going on without being noticed I think he wouldn't notice that. But yeah, it is an important detail, and thank you for mentioning it! To answer your second question, the ,5 means that someone has given half a vote to Sorato xD A bit silly, I know, but ah well. Thirdly, the others will appear in this chapter and they will have an important role. As for the M rating, you can read about it at the beginning of my author's notes :) Thank you so much for the review and the interest in the story! I hope you like this chapter!), Abbodon and Udon Princess again for their reviews! I won't waste any more of your time! On with the story!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>CHAPTER 9<br/></strong>
  <strong>THE CAPTURE</strong>
</p><p>The sun began to show its bright colors in this beautiful summer day. Not in the Dark Ocean, of course, but back in Tokyo, Japan. As the day breaks, people resume their busy, restless lives, among the movement of the endless cars and the noise of the gigantic city, completely oblivious to two small figures, one jumping and the other one flying, going from tree-top to tree-top.</p><p>The flying one, chubby, orange, blue-eyed and broad-winged, spoke to the jumping one, elegant, long-tailed, cat-like, "I'm kind of worried, you know… T.K. never spoke to us again after that weird conversation and I'm afraid something might have happened…"</p><p>"I'm sure it was nothing, Patamon…" the cat replied, "You know T.K. and Kari, they must have handled it immediately after."</p><p>"Still…" Patamon went on, worry in his voice, "Something bothers me, Gatomon…"</p><p>"Well… Let's just be quick, then, to end our worries…"</p><p>And the two Digimon did so. They had returned from their vacation time in the Digital World for good, missing their best friends a lot, but this situation did make them… uneasy. Both the cat and the bat-pig went on in a steady rhythm, knowing their destination by heart, but inside they were wrestling not to think about the worst-case scenario, about what would happen if the Dark Ocean did return and came for Kari again…</p><p>Once they arrived at the tall apartment complex, they got in, climbed to the right floor and then split up, each of them going to their "owner's" apartment, entering with a spare key they always carried. They were expecting to see T.K. or Kari still sleeping (alone or even together!), or having breakfast, or doing anything that involved any part of their apartment. But both houses were empty, though they were filled with that strange atmosphere that reminds someone of the solitude of a desert, the abandonment of a bloody battlefield.</p><p>In despair, little Patamon began running from room to room, crying aloud, "T.K.! T.K.! Where are you?" There was no reply but the echo of his own melancholic callings. He checked if anything else was missing: he went through the drawers where Takeru kept his D3 and D-terminal and found they weren't there either… This was strange… He never wore them unless he was planning to use them. The orange Digimon heard Gatomon doing the same inside the other apartment and his urge was to return to the hall. The two didn't have to say a word to see that something was terribly wrong. The cat-like Digimon was holding a small pouch in her paws, where she knew Hikari kept her D3 and D-terminal, but the pouch was empty too now. She ventured to say something, "I guess there was something actually going after Kari… Something related to the Digiworld, because their digi-stuff is missing…"</p><p>Patamon, gulping, also said, "Yeah… We need to talk to the rest of the group… We need to find some help…"</p><hr/><p>Everything around him was spotlessly white. A strong feeling of peace and serenity soaked the air, showing him that everything was alright again, the nightmare was over… T.K. didn't question this feeling. In fact, he questioned nothing at all about that place. But how did he get there? Was it because they had suffered enough already? Would the answer to that problem come to him now, as a reward for their effort? But that didn't matter now, he felt so free...</p><p>The blonde took several steps into the infinite white. While he walked, he looked over himself and vaguely noticed he was wearing clothes as white as the place around him. Although he walked, he was unsure of what to do, of what to look for. His common sense told him that he should probably call out for anyone (mainly Kari), but he didn't do anything. His conscience seemed to be somehow asleep.</p><p>But Takeru did react when Kari herself, dressed in white as well, appeared from nowhere. The young woman smiled at him and he smiled back, speeding his pace to catch up on her quickly, a mix of sheer joy and pleasant anxiety taking up his heart, the mix that makes you see that you're in love. Still, he didn't say a word. As if he had forgotten all about the Dark Ocean, the choices they would have to make and everything related to it, the Child of Hope held Hikari in his arms and felt his heart beat faster. The brunette merely let out a pleased chuckle and held his hands in hers, going on smiling at him. Without knowing exactly why, T.K. embraced her again and she took it a step further: still holding close, the couple began rocking in a slow rhythm, a slow yet cheerful rhythm.</p><p>The blonde still didn't question the strangeness of that moment, he just kept on dancing with Kari, caressing her hair, keeping himself close to her. He wasn't thinking, he wasn't seeing anything besides him and her. He wouldn't do anything to spoil that feeling. But, eventually that feeling would be spoiled by itself...</p><p>It all changed quickly. They were so absorbed in each other they didn't notice their surroundings weren't white anymore. A huge, terrifying group of sick-colored clouds tainted the whiteness, like an oil stain spreading across the limpid ocean. The two best friends only saw that something had gone terribly wrong when thick droplets began falling from the skies, dying their clothes with a vivid red color.</p><p>They still didn't let go off each other, but that light feeling of freedom, of harmony, was long gone, leaving behind only the stench of death and despair, the stomping noise of the putrid rain. Even though Takeru wanted to help a terrified Kari, he couldn't help but do nothing at the sight of her sobbing weakly, because the red marks printed on her dress were disposed in such a way that they seemed to be of her own blood, spilled as a result of unimaginable pain, provoked by a nightmarish creature. That filled the Child of Hope with a terror that he couldn't put in words, a terror that he knew, with a certainty he couldn't explain, that would haunt him in the future again...</p><p>The whiteness had disappeared completely now, all that was left was darkness. The blood rain kept on pouring down and started flooding the room. When it reached their legs beneath their knees, something else started moving inside the growing ocean of blood, something sickly blue, disgusting and tentacle-ish, that coiled around Kari's ankle, pushing her down, making her scream in horror. Immediately, the entire room was filled with blood and the two best friends were underneath it, Kari still being pushed by the creature, Takeru, blinded by the contaminated liquid, doing all that he could to swim after her.</p><p>'<em>Please, let me get to her in time…' </em>Takeru's mind pleaded. <em>'Please don't let her get hurt…'</em></p><p>The last thing the blonde saw and heard was an immense, dangerous shadow taking the girl he loved lower and lower in the blood and her calling out for him in pain, before everything went black and he found himself in a different setting…</p><p>It wasn't white this time, it was still filled with the evil clouds instead. And his clothes had the print of blood on them. T.K. felt his heart torn by his stomach, he was panting and sobbing uncontrollably, unable to understand what was happening, incapable of knowing what to do without Kari, but he still kept on going. And then he saw her again, standing but looking at her feet, still with her white dress but with her own blood and the ocean's staining it, completely wounded by those tentacles…</p><p>Tears leaving his eyes, the Child of Hope ran to her, but it came as no use. The faster he ran, the more he tried, the further from him the image got, until all that was left of it was an indistinct blur surrounded by darkness…</p><p>He stopped and a single image appeared in front of his eyes, a lifeless Hikari stranded on the unholy ground… And then, it all ended…</p><p>Takeru Takaishi woke up in the Dark Ocean literally crying his eyes out, possessed by complete terror, trembling compulsively and covered in a thick layer of freezing sweat. An also frightened Hikari Yagami was holding him close and helping him cough out a narrow thread of dark fog that had been inside him, causing that horrible nightmare in the first place…</p><p>'<em>Thank God she is okay…' </em>T.K. thought, never having felt so happy for having Kari embracing him, for feeling her sweet scent against his nostrils. <em>'Thank God it was only a dream…'</em></p><p>But the Child of Light was anything but relieved at seeing her strong best friend as helpless as that, reminding her of the 8-year-old terrorized boy he once was… Still keeping him close to her while the trail of dark fog dissipated with the apparent light, she whispered to him, sobbing as well, "Everything is fine, T.K.… It was this place, this place hurt you… You don't need to worry anymore, I'm here with you… You remember what you said, right? As long as we're together, nothing will get us…"</p><p>With this, both the young adults returned to their normal state in each other's arms, although Takeru still kept in his mind the terrifyingly realistic images in his mind. He didn't say a word to her, but he accepted what she said, knowing that he wouldn't be hurt by a dream only… But in a place where blood pours from the skies, anything else can happen…</p><p>The blonde slowly got up with Kari's help, now almost completely normal.</p><p>"I'll…" T.K. started, "I'll go to find some water to refresh myself… Thank you so much, Kari, for driving me out of that nightmare… I'm okay now, thanks to you…"</p><p>The brunette nodded, although she could see that her friend was still shaken from the nightmare. But he was right. Probably washing up with some fresh water would do him good.</p><p>"Be careful…" she merely said before he left and she started fixing something for breakfast.</p><p>Takeru cursed himself all the way to the nearest (and regrettably small) freshwater pond, for being so weak, for worrying Kari so much, for having to leave her alone just because he couldn't get a grip after only a nightmare. But it felt so real... And the Child of Hope still had that feeling that it would haunt him again some time.</p><p>T.K. knelt down before the excuse for a water pond in front of him. He looked at the clear water and a worn-out, dirty, pale and terrified blond young man stared back at him. If it weren't for his bright eye color, the Digidestined would never believe it was his reflection. With his hands closed, he took several handfuls of the precious water and poured them over his face, feeling free and relaxed for one moment and slowly forgetting the reason that brought him there.</p><p>And that was when he saw them for the first time.</p><p>A strange noise joined the water splashes, a rustling noise that came from the grey bushes around Takeru. Something (or someone) was moving. Alarmed, the blonde immediately faced the vegetation, following the movement line until the thing came into view. The Child of Hope was in awe. There was a two-inch tall creature standing in front of him, as surprised as the young man. It looked very human-like, except for the long pointy ears and the claw-like fingers and toes. It was dressed in (surprisingly) green leaves and had a four-leaf clover as a hat. It looked like it had been taken from a fairy tale book. A Digimon? Takeru didn't know...</p><p>All of a sudden, a dim golden light surrounded the little creature and, when it took one step forward, Takeru's crest of Hope, around his neck, began glowing with the same light.</p><p>The small thing became very excited at this and raised his index finger to Takeru. The blonde didn't know what to do, but his instinct made him stretch his own finger too, until the two touched. A brighter ball of golden light appeared from that contact and the creature became even more thrilled, letting out some incomprehensible shrieks but maintaining the contact.</p><p>T.K. didn't understand what was happening, but his mind was racing. He had the feeling that this event was much bigger than it seemed, much more important, for everyone in that place. And he was about to open his mouth to ask something (anything!) to the mysterious creature when he heard a terrified, female scream following by an unearthly howl from far away.</p><p>And the moment was lost.</p><p>"KARI!" Takeru got up all of a sudden, forgetting what had just happened. He instinctively ran, as fast as his tired legs and his dedication could take him, cursing himself again for having left his best friend alone. The grey trees ran past him in a frenzy, and when he finally got to Hikari, his jaw dropped.</p><p>The young woman was in complete panic, holding and shaking a dry branch with both her hands, trying to keep something away from her. And it was that something that horrified Takeru, that froze his blood inside his veins, that drained his entire spirit of any hope in the future.</p><p>It stood on its four massive, muscled and clawed paws, a five-feet tall monster as purple as an old bruise but with several brownish (as in blood) marks staining his scaly skin. It had an enormous head, its jaws were as long as a crocodile's, its eyes were yellow and bloodshot, with vertical pupils, and there was something lupine about its face besides the short yet accurate ears it had. Its entire body was bulky and strong and it seemed that it had been better fed than the rest of the creatures there. It had a long, whip-like tail, which moved quickly and deadly. The fiend was facing Kari with death in its eyes, and, when it raised its head to let out those familiar and characteristic howls, several rows of sharp, deadly teeth could be seen.</p><p>Those were the famous Bloodhunters.</p><p>Takeru swiftly took a branch to himself and joined his terrified best friend in an act of courage, or sheer madness. Once it stopped howling, the Bloodhunter stood still for a while, as if deciding what to do, and then faced the two young adults and started chasing them.</p><p>"Run, Kari, run!"</p><p>T.K. dropped the branch, held Kari's hand in his and ran with her, even faster than before, for the nightmarish creature going after them gave them no other choice. Eventually, the Child of Light dropped her own branch as well and the two started heading more inside the forest, but the Bloodhunter had other plans for them.</p><p>Abruptly changing directions, the monster forced the two Degidestined to run towards the beach and the blood ocean, and it soon became clear to them the reason why. Three black Gesomon were waiting for them, tentacles swishing expectantly, and when T.K. and Kari reached the beach, they found themselves trapped.</p><p>"Just look what fortune has brought us..." one of them said. "Our Master will be so pleased. Get her!"</p><p>The blonde put himself in front of Kari protectively and the fire in his eyes made perfectly clear that those creatures would have to give him more than Hell before he allowed them to take her. But the black squids seemed to simply ignore it, moving confidently forward while the Bloodhunter merely watched. Hikari grabbed her best friend's arm, as if letting him know that he wasn't alone, but both the young adults began feeling like two fish tangled in a narrow net. And when two of the Gesomon started throwing disgusting tentacles at them, there wasn't enough human strength in the world to stop them.</p><p>"Whatever happens…" T.K. said, while still having a hold of her arm and struggling out of the ball of squishy thread swallowing them, "don't let go of me…"</p><p>Kari nodded and obeyed, but the black Digimon weren't making that task easy. An evil glint in their red eyes, each one of the Gesomon grabbed the blonde and the brunette respectively, pulling them violently apart.</p><p>"Don't let go of me..." T.K. repeated. But it hurt so much, it was so hard... And the third Gesomon was growing impatient with that resistance, so he howled another order, "Faster!" and began attacking Takeru's arm himself, painfully.</p><p>Hikari saw as her best friend still wouldn't let go of her, and once again understood how lucky she was for having him there, by her side. That made her struggle harder, please Takeru and enrage the spectator Gesomon. "I won't..."</p><p>Unfortunately, that decision wasn't in their hands anymore, as the Bloodhunter finished that impasse at once. Takeru only heard a loud swish crossing the hair before its tail viciously hit his hand and his arm lost all its mobility. Close to panic, he saw Kari's hand leave his without being able to do anything, he saw the black creature holding her starting dragging his best friend to the blood ocean. The stinging pain in his arm didn't prevent him from struggling once again, or trying to reach out for Kari.</p><p>"Hang on, Kari, I won't leave you!" he cried out loud.</p><p>But his own keeper made sure he was completely still. The leader Gesomon cackled at the Child of Hope's despair and said, "You won't be going anywhere. You two," he looked at the other Gesomon and at the Bloodhunter, "make sure he won't meddle on our business ever again. I'll take the Chosen One to our Master." And with this the squid also left towards the ocean, diving after the terrified Kari.</p><p>T.K. went on with his liberation attempts, and this time, the Gesomon didn't hold him back. But when the blonde started running after Kari, he didn't realize that there was still one tentacle strongly tight around his ankle and he fell on the sand on his face. The wicked Digimon finally let him go and said, "Not so fast, boy! You," he faced the Bloodhunter, "have your breakfast."</p><p>Takeru didn't like the sound of that one bit, so he immediately got up, feeling his arm gradually recover from the previous blow. He heard the Bloodhunter's huge paws hitting the sand behind him in a frenetic rhythm, and sprinted to the forest. If he wanted to save Kari, he first had to handle those two. Disarmed and without Patamon there...</p><p>It didn't take long for the beast to outrun the young man, under the distant Gesomon's eyes, and the blonde now felt its tremendous weight upon him, its putrid breath washing over his face, terrifying him, the death glare in its eyes telling him there was no escape. And there was no escape indeed. But it is hope's job to find a way out, even when one is inside a closed dead end, or when a horrid purple monster is about to bite one to death, which is the case.</p><p>Maybe it was the thought of losing Kari that sprung another of those quick, instinctive reactions, but what really matters is that Takeru's hand swiftly closed around a big amount of sand and the young man threw it to the fiend's eyes, making it flinch in pain.</p><p>This was just the opportunity T.K. needed to kick the Bloodhunter off him and draw one finishing blow. With his arm now completely recovered, he picked up a nearby heavy rock while the creature rudely rubbed its eyes, and he hit its head several time with it, in a mixture of supernatural howls and a frail shower of blood, rendering the monster unconscious.</p><p>The Gesomon would never guess the blonde could defeat that powerful creature, for his smile vanished completely at the sight of the fallen monster. But he had been given strict orders and he intended to follow them till the end. So, the giant squid Digimon faced the young man once again, this time using a very special weapon: the soporific sting he hid among his tentacles.</p><p>The black squid threw his sting at Takeru three times. The Child of Hope easily dodged them the first two times and, at the third one, he was able to grab the sting with his bare hands. Catching the Gesomon by surprise, he turned the spell to the wizard, using all his strength to pierce the weapon through one of his tentacle's flesh. The sea Digimon shrieked and then began trembling vigorously, losing his balance and tumbling gradually. After a while, he was under his own soporific poison, now unable to stop Takeru's will to rescue the Child of Light.</p><p>And that's exactly what T.K. did, afraid that he had taken too long to be free. Leaving all rational thought behind, he ran hastily to the immense cursed blood vessel and threw his body at it, diving with no more delays and no doubts. That was the most disgusting experience of his entire life.</p><p>He dived with eyes open, but he soon understood that it was too repulsive to bear with it and carry on, so he closed them. Besides, he could only see some indistinct grey matter in front of him either way. The putrid blood touching every inch of his bare skin filled him with the most unpleasant, inexplicable feeling and that, allied to the complete lack of orientation and the scary chanting he heard, made Takeru's heart pound with uneasiness and panic.</p><p>He swam the fastest he could, deeper and deeper, and he suddenly felt some commotion right in front of him. He was nearly out of breath now, but he was near her and he wouldn't let her go. Kari probably caused her captors much trouble to delay them that much and T.K. felt relieved knowing she was still fighting. He tried to call out her name, but only a long stream of thick bubbles left his mouth and the sourest flavor invaded it. But Kari must have understood him for another stream of bubbles appeared.</p><p>The Child of Hope then swam even faster than before and stretched his arm forward to the maximum. His and Hikari's fingers brushed over each other in a peak of joy and hope, but Takeru finally found himself without breath and his body refused to go any further. The revolted young man just let his body float to the surface as his purpose went further and further, and he dragged himself to the shore, mad at his weakness.</p><p>The blonde fell on his knees and elbows by the shoreline, in complete defeat and disbelief. He held his blood-covered head between his hands and cursed himself for his failure. He had promised Kari he would protect her throughout that quest, he was supposed to keep her safe and sound and bring her home unharmed... She had laid all her trust and hope on him and he let her down... All of that was his fault, he should have never let her alone, he should have tried harder to rescue her, and now Kari would be mistreated and die just because of his mistakes... The nightmare he had earlier achieved full meaning now and was becoming a reality before his eyes... He was going to lose the woman he most loved in the world, the one true key for his happiness, and there was no way to turn that around... Takeru wanted to cry, needed to cry, but the tears wouldn't fall. His entire body just kept trembling violently, as a severer (yet insufficient) punishment for his errors...</p><p>After a while like this, Takeru began hearing something else besides his own sobbing: two sets of steps behind him mixed with some incomprehensible mumbling. More trouble. Or at least he thought.</p><p>He turned his head to face the newcomers nonchalantly, knowing there was nothing they could do to him to make him feel worse. But he was somewhat surprised to see they were two Scubamon: a normal one, a warrior, and a female and old one, someone he did not remember seeing before. T.K. noticed they were having some sort of an argument, as if the warrior was trying to prevent the old one to go any further.</p><p>"What do you want from me?" Takeru asked, slightly annoyed. He had no patience for kindness right now.</p><p>The old Scubamon moved forward with great confidence, using a wooden cane as a support, and the other one didn't try to stop her this time. That female certainly had a considerable amount of power to behave like that. When she was right in front of the blonde, she introduced herself, "My name is Penelope. I came from the forest, from the strongest Scubamon village still standing. You were there as a prisoner, remember?"</p><p>The annoyance level of T.K.'s voice rose at this. "Then you can turn around and go tell your 'Boss' that his 'Chosen One' is gone. The Gesomon took her to their 'Dark Master'..."</p><p>The Scubamon that called herself Penelope lost her temper and poked Takeru with her cane after hearing that, "So what are you doing here, sitting down like this?! Go get her, if you want any of us to live!"</p><p>"Can't you see?" the young man shouted, "this entire ocean is blood and she has vanished underneath it! I can't save her, all hope is lost..."</p><p>The sea Digimon remained silent and calm this time, merely stretching one arm towards Takeru and grabbing the Crest of Hope around his neck. "You, of all people, should never say that."</p><p>Surprise spread across T.K.'s expression, "How did you know I...?"</p><p>"Hope is supposed to be endless, and you must learn how to use yours," Penelope went on, letting the crest go. "I am here to help you with that. I would have come to you sooner, but the 'Boss'," now she was the one with annoyance in her voice, "never saw you as an important piece of this puzzle and this moron," she pointed to the warrior behind her, "wanted to keep me in the village."</p><p>"You... you think I'm important here?" T.K. asked. "But I've been so ignored..."</p><p>The old Digimon nodded, "Most certainly. But the Boss has a very narrow point of view, a wrong and narrow point of view, and he'll doom us all if he doesn't realize that soon enough. Both Light and Hope will play a key role in everything and I'm here to show you how to use your power."</p><p>"Wrong... what do you mean? Do you know about the true prophecy? And what about the power? My Digimon, Patamon, isn't here with me, I cannot use the crest..."</p><p>But Penelope shook her head. "You are asking too many questions. You'll find their answer in due time. And of course you can use your crest. As I said, Hope and Light are important in this place, ever since the beginning of it. Therefore, as long as you're in the Dark Ocean's boundaries, you and the Chosen One can use your crests in a... wider perspective."</p><p>Takeru finally got the motivation to get up, maybe this would bring Kari back. Penelope pointed to the crest this time, and explained, "All you need to do is hold it in your hands and say the following words: 'Hope, I give you the will, now give me the way to carry on'. You'll immediately see the changes."</p><p>The blonde was the one to nod this time and he did as asked, whispering those words to his golden medallion. His heart was now filled with expectation, for this was his last resort. And it worked, he felt the transformation as soon as the spell left his lips.</p><p>A bubble of bright golden light involved the young man and filled the place with rare color. This bubble rose in the air and, inside, T.K.'s body began changing. He felt a wide wave of refreshment rush across all his veins, making all despair and frustration caused by that dark journey disappear. He felt a metallic structure forming from above his nose to beyond his forehead, an adorned helmet comparable to Angemon's. And, more surprisingly, he felt two feathery things ripping through the skin of his back, huge golden wings which had the characteristic comet of Hope drawn on them.</p><p>As he opened his new wings widely, the golden bubble burst and the scenery returned to its shades of grey, but Takeru was filled with such amount of positivism now that he could have destroyed the 'Dark Master' himself. Finally with a smile on his lips, the blond angel circled the spot in flight to test his wings, and he found out it was something he enjoyed doing a lot. Strangely, the broad helmet didn't affect his vision one bit.</p><p>"What are you waiting for, lad!? Go, go save the girl! The monster won't kill her, he needs her power, but he will do anything in his power to persuade her! Go!" Penelope yelled from below.</p><p>"But... how?" He was an angel, but angels don't cross oceans of blood.</p><p>"That form gives you many powers, many abilities! You are the Child of Hope, as long as you keep confidence in yourself, with the right amount of optimism and the correct thoughts, you'll be able to unlock them all! Just trust your instincts! Now go!"</p><p>T.K. wasn't sure to have understood it all, but still nodded, eager to get Kari back. From up above, he dived (more or less clumsily) into the grayish ocean, but the feeling of his body against the blood was still the same... Standing still, he was about to give into doubt when he remembered Penelope's words: he had to keep his Hope in his heart if he wanted to succeed. Once again, his instincts told him what to do and he executed a quick, vertical hand movement, without knowing what to expect.</p><p>Fortunately, he found a solution to his problem, for a shield formed around his body and wings, taking his body shape and protecting him from the blood outside. Smiling in self-realization, Takeru started swimming with the help of his arms and wings, but he soon discovered another problem, when he crashed into big rock and hurt his head. The angel still didn't have any means of orientation.</p><p>This time, he unconsciously covered both his eyes with his hands and, when he opened them again, he had a different perspective of the place around him. He still couldn't see the obstacles in detail, only their silhouettes, as if he had been given a sonar or a radar, but at least he could see his destination.</p><p>With his new vision, T.K. searched around for the place the Gesomon might have taken Hikari, remembering the dying Scubamon telling something about a palace. He was quick to find it, at the bottom of the blood ocean, what seemed to be a gigantic seashell, semi-open, but with a huge façade probably built to avoid the liquid from invading the fortress. It certainly had a front door (probably a big one), but Takeru knew he couldn't use it without being seen. The many black dots around it proved him right.</p><p>That's why he swam to the right, going around the impressive building to find a door in the back. There were no guards there, so the blonde merely approached the palace walls (which were very cold to the touch and seemed to be very deteriorated) and felt his way to a door, a regular normal-sized door.</p><p>Takeru opened it a bit recklessly and noticed that some sort of protective bubble (very similar to the one he was wearing) prevented the place to be flooded. He entered and closed the door behind him, losing his angelical form immediately, as all the tiredness abruptly returned, more than before. Since there was no one around, T.K. started roaming the place, trying to figure out what to do and where to start looking for his best friend. But even if he had his sonar-like vision, he would feel at complete loss there.</p><p>That place was completely different from anything in that dimension. All the walls were painted white and the floor had been carved from white coral. The ceiling was taller than any other building the young man had visited in his short life and the broad corridor he was in was strongly decorated with many types of statues (of monsters, of beautiful creatures, of angels, of demons). Every eight feet, there were two wooden doors, one on the left and another one to the right. T.K. would like to know where they led, but he needed to go on. The atmosphere of the place was filled to the brim with an intense, yet decaying, sense of power. The blonde wondered about that 'Dark Master', about how beautiful that palace must have looked in its glorious past...</p><p>A chill ran through his spine, making him realize that the return of those glory days was now in his hands, in his ability to find and help Kari find the right choice. He had to hurry, their time was running out... But he was lost inside that building and the blood that soaked his hair since after the swim was starting to give him a headache...</p><p>These thoughts filled Takeru's mind in such a way that didn't allow him to notice the black tentacles drawing near to him, slowly, fatally, and the blonde was quickly and unavoidably involved in a squishy ball of thread for the second time that day...</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>[original notes, june 2008]</p><p>Ah, a cliffhanger! Sorry about that ;</p><p>Anyway, I updated this relatively soon, no? I really hope you liked this chapter, from now on it gets more and more exciting! I really enjoyed writing this one!</p><p>Now, about the secondary pairing voting... This time, if you want to vote, please go to my profile page and the poll can be found right at the top. I won't use the reviews anymore for voting purposes, I'm sorry. But I'll still keep you posted about the results at the end of each chapter! So, what shall it be? Taiora, Sorato or Taito?</p><p>Current results:</p><p>Taiora – 30</p><p>Sorato – 39,5</p><p>Taito – 25</p><p>Thanking you for getting this far, for going on reading! None of this would have mattered if it weren't for you!</p><p>Lots of love and see you next chapter!</p><p>kathlaida-princess logging out...</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. DAGOMON</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>[original notes, aug 2008]</p><p>Hello, dear readers! I sure hope it hasn't been long since I updated last time, but here it is, the tenth chapter of this fic! I'm also starting a new series of Takari stories, the "What if..." series (go see "When Friendship is Forbidden, Love Prevails"'s summary to understand that series), so feel free to check it out! Anyway, once again, I want to thank smile-maker (nada a dizer), Lord Pata (and they'll be coming back again soon, don't worry thank you!), Odat (I'm glad you thought so and liked their addition to the story! And it's my pleasure to let you all know you've been a tremendous help, making me want to write more and more!), joeshen (you don't imagine how epic the cliffhanger is :)thank you!), SoratoIsAwesome, arkofcreation1214 (thank you so much! ), PrincessOfHeartsNYP (lol, I was also somehow reminded of E.T. when I was giving the chapter a final revision. Thank you for the support!) and Wish I Could Forget You (I hope I did! :P) for their motivation! This is a short yet important chapter and I hope it is of your liking! On with the story!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>CHAPTER 10<br/></strong>
  <strong>DAGOMON</strong>
</p><p>It was cold, so cold, but still it seemed like a scorching fire was running across her skin. Darkness was all around her, swallowing her, suffocating her, planting a growing seed of panic inside her chest. She couldn't see, she couldn't move (mainly because of the squid monster grabbing her), she couldn't breathe and she couldn't even speak, no matter how much she tried (and that would only increase the metallic flavor inside her mouth).</p><p>That was how diving into an ocean of blood felt like.</p><p>And even though Kari knew she was going lower and lower without a chance to rise and escape, she kept on struggling till her last spark of energy went out, wiggling all her limbs frenetically, should they touch her savior's skin, for she knew T.K. would come for her.</p><p>All that struggle was sure to annoy her squid keepers, making them waste too much of their precious time restraining the young woman, something that could cost them their lives. After all, the Gesomon had strict orders to attend to.</p><p>And that became a bigger problem to them when the Child of Light felt a sudden surge of movement above her, informing that rescue had come. She struggled so hard and so fast that she was able to break free from the one black digi-creature imprisoning her, thrusting her body upwards with her lungs' last breath. She was able to touch what she knew to be Takeru's fingers, but she wasn't able to hold onto them and her chance was lost.</p><p>The Gesomon were quick to react to this attempted liberation, and the two of them threw all of their soporiferous stings at the brunette, using their accurate blood-adapted vision.</p><p>All stings reached their target, sending Hikari to a completely unconscious state, in which she would be able to cross the blood ocean without drowning. The Dark Master's minions got hold of Kari again, relieved that they were able to control the situation, and went on.</p><p>There was no sign of Takeru anymore.</p><p>The rest of the journey went on with no other complications.</p><hr/><p>"<em>Yes, yes, kill the boy...</em><em>He mustn't know more, he mustn't find out..."</em>a terrible excited voice echoed. <em>"Or everything would be lost..."</em></p><hr/><p>Several frail rays of clearness broke into the blackness, echoing across it like many separate notes of a mysterious tune. At one point, these beams started growing larger in number and in size until they brought full reality with them and Hikari suddenly woke up, even if the place she was in made her feel like she was still dreaming.</p><p>She had only seen big city's skyscrapers as tall as the ceiling above her, which was the first thing she noticed when she opened her eyes.</p><p>And as she motioned from her lying position to a sitting one, she also saw the humongous polished white door, almost as tall as the ceiling.</p><p>The Child of Light was in a completely white square room where height prevailed over the rest, completely different from the Dark Ocean she had seen so far, scary and wild.</p><p>Everything was richly decorated: she was sitting on a gigantic white bed that could hold ten Karis, there were many statues around the room (made of many types of stone), a wardrobe, windows that had been painted over to fake a perfectly clear ocean, a broad dressing-table on the left of the bed, a full-body mirror that was right above, a big metallic bowl of pure water at the bottom of the bed and a beautiful painting on the right of the door, surely representing the Dark Ocean's glorious past.</p><p>Everything around the young woman had "royalty" written all over and, after looking herself over, she realized that she too was completely clean and dressed in a gorgeous, long, white gown, worthy of a fairy tale queen.</p><p>Hikari examined all of it in awe, wondering where she was and why she was there.</p><p>And the dormant memories of her latest misadventure immediately struck her, rendering her completely restless. She was surely inside their enemy's palace, but where was the "Dark Master" they kept talking about and where was T.K.?</p><p>T.K... She felt his skin in the ocean, she knew he had tried to rescue her, but what happened to him now? Was he hurt, was he as lost as she was? Or worse, was he...?</p><p>Kari's mind was swarming with those uncomfortable thoughts, filling her with strong anxiety. She couldn't survive that place without her blond best friend, she had to find him... But she was stuck inside an empty room, completely void of answers... She had to find a way to get out...</p><p>And as soon as the Child of Light made that decision, a very loud, close and repetitive noise echoed across the gigantic bedroom. Someone had knocked on the door and the Digidestined knew it was the reason why the door was so big.</p><p>She spoke for the first time, saying in a rough and noticeably apprehensive voice, "C-come in..."</p><p>And she was already expecting the worst.</p><p>A creaking noise could be heard as the door opened rather fast. The creature behind it certainly had a considerable amount of strength to move such weight that fast. And, before closing the door behind it, the creature entered the room completely, allowing Hikari to examine it in complete horror.</p><p>It had the basic anatomy of a human, but no human could ever look that hideous or nightmarish. It was as tall as the door it had used to come in and it was of a grayish shade of blue. Instead of bones, muscles and skin, its body, as well as his legs and his left arm, seemed to be made of an intricate jointing of thick tentacles. His right arm, however, was just one larger tentacle and Hikari didn't want to know what it was used for. The creature had a pair of flesh colored bat-like wings, spikes on its shoulders, several belts, chains and golden rings around its limbs and a large sinister bead necklace pending over its chest.</p><p>But the most terrifying part was its head. Until its upper jaw, it looked like an octopus, with its many tentacles always in motion, probing the air around them, always examining... But its gigantic lower jaw was almost shaped like a human's, it had a row of many extremely sharp teeth and Kari was sure that the jaw could stretch open down to the base of the creature's neck. Its eyes were blood red, capable of melting one's moves at the spot, but there was something about them that seemed last feral, that seemed to call out for her help.</p><p>And the Child of Light realized that she knew that Digimon from somewhere else besides her nightmares. Izzy had shown it to her and T.K. through an old Digimon listing a long time ago: it was Dagomon, the Dark Ocean's Master was Dagomon.</p><p>And Dagomon was told to be the owner of tremendous power of many levels: outstanding physical strength, powerful water elemental attacks and even dark sorcery (which Kari now knew had created the black Gesomon and the Bloodhunters and turned the ocean into blood). It was a tyrant, it crushed the weak and exploited them, fed on them. It could single-handed destroy an entire civilization and feast with its remains. All Digimon feared it, even its henchmen.</p><p>Kari could hear Izzy's voice say inside her head, "Don't be fooled by its Ultimate level. With all the tricks it has up its sleeve, it is as powerful and challenging as a Mega Digimon..." But she didn't have the chance to panic at all of this because Dagomon was smiling broadly and horrifyingly at her, getting ready to speak.</p><p>"I see they have already given you the dress." If caves could talk, they would sound like Dagomon. "It suits you perfectly."</p><p>The brunette was awestruck at hearing those words coming from the Dark Master, but he went on.</p><p>"I brought you a present. I know they are highly appreciated in your world."</p><p>With that, Dagomon used its right one-tentacle arm, making a regular-sized box of chocolates appear with a swish, motioning it towards Kari. The young woman merely said, "Thank you..." taking the box in her hands.</p><p>A few moments of silence passed by before the giant Digimon spoke again, "I am really glad that you are finally here, oh Chosen One... You are far too precious to be lost on that desolate world outside, among those traitors of the surface. They just cannot see it. You belong here, where they cannot stain you with their fake prophecies and lies. You are safe here, my queen."</p><p>An eerie chill crossed Hikari's spine after that speech but she was brave enough to ask, in a skeptical tone, "So, if you say the Scubamon's prophecies are wrong, which one is the /<em>real/ </em>prophecy?"</p><p>The Dark Ocean's Master let out a could laugh before replying, "That is exactly why you are here, to hear the true prophecy, to fulfill it. When Darkness falls (<strong>A/N: </strong>xDD), the Chosen One must lend her Light to the ruler of this place, becoming his queen, for only the king has enough power to save his own world. It is a very old prophecy, written by our oracles and seers when our world was at peace. The only true prophecy."</p><p>Hikari listened to everything with neutrality written all over her, for she expected something like that and she knew exactly what Dagomon's purpose was: to set her up, to manipulate her. She could hear Izzy's voice again, speaking of the monster's malice. She felt another sudden need to have T.K. with her. He was safety, he was the guarantee she would survive that place. She still had to find him and maybe that will to do so made her be brave enough to say, "I don't believe you."</p><p>And she thought the creature would lose its composure at that, revealing its true colors, but he merely laughed again.</p><p>"I knew it would be a hard task to convince you, but this really is not a question of what you believe in, it is more about what is true. You must already know that the Scubamon's prophecy is fake by now, otherwise you would not have escaped their clutches and be here. I will just make this clear, Child of Light, there are only two Digimon people in this realm. We both know there is just one possible choice."</p><p>Kari could see a lie inside his speech, by the way he talked to her, by the affected kindness in his words, by the way he repressed some emotions, by the mysterious glint in his eyes that seemed to betray him. The question was, which was the lie?</p><p>She, however, wasn't able to discuss it any further because Dagomon had turned around and opened the door to leave, not giving her the opportunity to ask about Takeru. But, as if he had read her mind, the Digimon stopped in his tracks and added, "Oh, of course, I gather you are wondering about your friend's whereabouts..."</p><p>Kari's heart jumped.</p><p>"I am afraid I am the bearer of bad news. He did manage to reach the palace by other means, but he had an unfortunate encounter with my guards. They dealt with him as they deal with any intruder and he fought quite passionately back. He had to be killed, or his passion would pose a grave threat to this palace. I am sorry. Apparently, he died trying to "save" you..."</p><p>Kari's heart sank.</p><p>Dagomon left and closed the door again.</p><p>It took her some time to apprehend what she had just heard but then it hit her as if the ceiling had crumbled and the entire blood ocean had crashed down on her, drowning her. There was nothing but that drowning feeling, that total anguish, that complete eradication of happiness. For one moment, there was just the world spinning terribly fast, across an immense abyss, where nothing would ever make sense again.</p><p>And when this Kari was drowned and dead too, she ran, threw herself over the big bed and began crying forever.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>[original notes, aug 2008]</p><p>Tah-dah! And this is it for now. I promise that the cliffhanger will be ended in the next chapter.</p><p>One last thing, the voting through the poll is over, since it only allows one vote per reader. This time, you can vote through reviews, which will be good news to the anonymous reviewers!</p><p>What should the second couple be, Taiora, Sorato or Taito?</p><p>Current results:</p><p>Taiora – 36</p><p>Sorato – 41,5</p><p>Taito – 26</p><p>Thank you for everything!</p><p>See ya all next chapter!</p><p>kathlaida-princess logging out...</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. ANSWERS IN THE LIBRARY</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>WARNING FOR VIOLENCE AGAINST AGGRESSIVE FANTASY CREATURES</p><p>[original notes, sept 2008]</p><p>Well, here it is, the next chapter to this story. I don't have much to say except that I thank all that read and smile-maker (vamos lá ver como continuamos com o Dagomon então xD), joeshen (yeah, I just wanted this to be an introduction to Dagomon ; there will be more dialogues and interaction on these next chapters. Thanks for the review! ), Odat (we'll see about T.K. D And thanks!), FireFairy219 (thanks! D), nostradamus (lol, I have to try it! And thank you for reading!), pinayangel528 (lol, your review really made me smile I'm glad you liked it and thanks for keeping on reading!), Wish I Could Forget You, xellen, Kari King Takaishi (lol, I usually take much more than a week to update... Sorry ;), Saber Emiya (thanks so much! ), Zutara Forever 3, Toushiro, shuuhei, shunsui, bleach is da bomb!, mightyducks rule! and Reading4fun (thanks! ) for having reviewed! I'm not tired of telling how happy I feel knowing you're still following this fic</p><p>Enough of this, let's go on with the story!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>CHAPTER 11<br/></strong>
  <strong>ANSWERS IN THE LIBRARY</strong>
</p><p>May your hearts be at peace, those who follow this adventure, for hope still shone, despite the Dark Master's words, and the one who held it lived on... But that doesn't mean he wasn't in danger...</p><p>At the moment, Takeru was exhausted, trapped inside a giant seashell, suffering from an immense headache induced by cursed blood and, worst of all, under the attack of a Black Gesomon and, even if he couldn't see it, a Bloodhunter too.</p><p>The squid-creature caught him in a moment of distraction and was now starting to imprison him, but, fortunately to T.K., the distraction didn't last for too long. He started struggling right before the situation became uncontrollable and leapt forward, towards the wall. The dark Digimon could do nothing but watch the young man wriggle out of its grip, but it still chased him afterwards.</p><p>"Don't think you'll get away that easily!"</p><p>Takeru landed on his feet after his leap and his blue eyes immediately fell on a tall expensive-looking jar standing on a heavy-looking pedestal. He had a plan. He ran to the pedestal and stood right behind it, transforming it into the only barrier between him and the monster. Using the wall as a support, the Child of Hope used all the strength he still had in his limbs to push the pedestal onto the Gesomon.</p><p>The stone pillar was heavier than T.K. thought, but that was just for the best. He pushed it and it fell right on the black Digimon, hurting its tentacles, its squishy body and making the jar break into a thousand shards (<strong>A/N: </strong>xD) in front of the blonde.</p><p>While the Gesomon was dealing with the pedestal, the Child of Hope grabbed hold of one of those shards, choosing a particularly big and sharp one. And, when the dark creature had already thrown the stone pillar away from itself, Takeru held the shard tightly with both his hands (even cutting them without noticing it) and jumped onto it, carving it into its rubbery flesh in a flurry of unusually dark blood.</p><p>The squid Digimon squealed in pain, throwing tentacle after tentacle chaotically in attempt to dislodge the boy and the sharp piece of porcelain. The Child of Hope dodged the tentacles and pulled out the shard, leaving an awful-looking wound upon the creature's skin, but he didn't stop and went on climbing the creature, using the many vine-like limbs that crossed his path as a ladder, every once in a while cutting them with his improvised weapon too. Soon Takeru was able to stand on the Gesomon's massive head and pierce it with the deadly shard with all his strength, all his momentum, all his despair, all his will and worry, causing the monster to let out a scream that was only comparable to the Bloodhunter's in horror. The young man then jumped and let himself be dragged by gravity to the floor, still holding onto the shard and slicing through the Gesomon's skin, flesh and cartilage all the way down while inky blood drops (and even blood streams) were sprinkled all over.</p><p>In the end, all that was left of the creature was a severely sliced up mass of sick, stringy flesh, squirming pitifully as a last try to be rescued from certain death, gushing out scary quantities of blood and a thin thread that contained its digital data. The young man would see this image in nightmares night after night if his mind wasn't already filled with other unpleasant, urgent thoughts.</p><p>Takeru panted heavily while his stomach protested and revolved bravely inside him, not only for the grisly sight before him but also for the stinging pain in both his hands, bothering him as the Gesomon let out its last breath under the shape of one last order that was not quite addressed to him, "You... don't let... the boy... escape..."</p><p>And it was only then, especially because of the half-growling/half-howling, that the Child of Hope realized there was another contender behind him, a Bloodhunter, now ready to carry out its new orders with pleasure, as shown in its reptile eyes. The blonde only had half a second to react before the horrid creature's whip-like tail slapped the floor and ran after him, after his blood, which was the only thing its diabolic eyes could see.</p><p>Heavy paws hitting the coralline floor were more than enough to give Takeru enough adrenaline to run, but not for long and maybe without enough speed. His weary, exhausted eyes scanned the surrounding environment for a chance, <em>any </em>chance of survival, but all he saw were other pedestals, statues, things he was sure wouldn't stun the bulky Bloodhunter, let alone kill it.</p><p>The cursed howling sound became louder as the stench of the beast's foul breath grew more intense. Time was running out and T.K. knew he had to do something. When hunter and prey got to the corner of the corridor, the blonde noticed a human-tall mirror behind a railing and risked everything in it, picking it up, not with his bleeding hands but with a lot of effort from his forearms, and hiding behind it.</p><p>And, to the Child of Hope's surprise, the Bloodhunter's weighty steps slowed down dramatically, until they came to a complete halt. The monster then started looking around violently, its vertical pupils severer than ever as they searched for the young man's blood.</p><p>Takeru began to wonder. He had seen Bloodhunters in action before and he remembered what the old Scubamon had told him: they were able to see through anything, like x-ray vision, and detect blood flawlessly like that. But that Bloodhunter could not see him through the mirror...</p><p>Knowing this, the Digidestined used the situation in his advantage, trying to hold onto the mirror and move it the most silently possible, not succeeding at all. After all, he was only using his forearms. This left the creature nervous, for it could hear something clearly but could not make out what it was.</p><p>T.K., unable to move the huge mirror any forward, decided to put his fate on Luck's hands again and pushed it onto the Bloodhunter, like he had done before with the pedestal. The mirror splintered into more shards, each of them a deadly crystal knife. Most of them hit the surprised creature, including the mirror frame, but the monster's scaly skin prevented them to hurt it.</p><p>The Child of Hope was about to consider his plan a failure when the last splinters did not hit its skin but its exposed eyes instead, penetrating deeply into them. Somehow, the miserable howl the Bloodhunter let out when it was hit brought Takeru more peace of mind than anything else inside the Dark Ocean, flooding his body with relief.</p><p>The creature was in grave pain, trying to touch its eyes with its short paws, trying to send away the hurt and not succeeding, his own blood covering its sight. Eventually accepting defeat, it laid on its back, many aching breaths leaving its opened mouth hurriedly. T.K. felt sorry for the Bloodhunter then, obliged to follow orders blindly, stringed to a monster who created it only to kill. Hatred towards that "Dark Master" grew stronger inside him, as did the urge to find Kari. His best friend could not be safe with <em>something </em>like it beside her.</p><p>The softest parts of a Bloodhunter's body, and, therefore, its weakest spots, are its eyes and its belly, as the Child of Hope learned through that experience. Determined to end the creature's misery, he removed the mirror remains from its eyes with an anger towards that place that wasn't usually characteristic of him and then used that same anger to plunge them right into the creature's heart, fiercely enough as to allow life to leave its body before it could feel any more pain.</p><p>As the Bloodhunter howled and sighed one final time, Takeru fell on his knees on the pale floor, staining them black as a puddle of blood coming from the dead fiend began spreading across it. Now that danger was over, all the energy that had sustained him that far left his body entirely, rendering him exhausted. T.K. had to find food, water and a safe place to rest.</p><p>Urgently.</p><p>Or he wouldn't be a great challenge the next time more monsters appeared.</p><p>But first, he had to find a way to hide the corpse of the Bloodhunter, or the others would immediately find out an intruder was indoors. The black Gesomon would not be a problem because its digital data had already left, towards the Beginning Village.</p><p>Hikari. Hikari's safety was the thought that made him regain some energy, will power to carry on with his task. Takeru slowly got up on his feet and faced the dead creature with that power, closing whatever gory mass of matter that remained from its eyes with a kind gesture.</p><p>"Rest in peace..." T.K. merely whispered.</p><p>Right after that, the routine of checking what was behind each and every door around him began.</p><p>Fortunately for the young man, the very first door of the corridor led him to a small pantry with cleaning products and he dragged the Bloodhunter there with his forearms, ripping then some of his shirt to wipe the remaining blood the best he could, and more too bandage his bleeding hands. Afterwards, having approved his own work, he set out to find supplies and somewhere to rest.</p><p>His backpack was left at their campsite at the surface, right before the ambush that dragged Hikari to the palace, so he didn't have a place to store more food and precious water once he had found them. Still, that didn't discourage him and, closed door after closed door, he opened them all in careful search.</p><p>Five minutes had passed by when the young man found exactly what he wanted: a pantry much like the other one, but filled with all kinds of food and many, many liters of bottled water instead of detergents and other cleaning products.</p><p>Smiling at the sight of so much food and hearing the roaring sound of his own stomach demanding to be filled, Takeru entered the room and closed the door behind him, stuffing his mouth in a very uncharacteristic way with canned beans, canned tuna, sardines and canned things he wasn't sure what they were. He was so hungry that every bite was intense, spreading a ravishing wave of strong flavor across his tongue. For those moments, he felt safe. He wondered why those creatures had human food in their pantries, but he then thought about the Scubamon working there and understood that they had only those things to feed on.</p><p>When T.K. was done eating, he packed his pants pockets with more food, in case he'd need more and have none or if Hikari needed some when he found her. He truly hoped that her captors were feeding her properly. Next, he opened a jug of that clear water and gulped a quarter of it down, the water flowing down him like liquid transparent gold, because that was how thirsty he was. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to carry more water with him, so he made sure he drank all he needed then.</p><p>Lastly, now that his body necessities had been satisfied, the blonde improvised a pillow with a sack of flour and laid his tired head on it after he put an empty can right beside the door. That way, he'd be awaken by the sound of it should anyone (or anything) come in.</p><p>Even though it was still daytime outside, the Child of Hope closed his eyes and fell asleep immediately, struggling one more time with ghoulish dreams and darkest visions...</p><hr/><p>"You tell us now the Chosen One was captured! What were you thinking?!" a deep, enraged, familiar voice yelled.</p><p>An angry thud as a cane hit the hard floor.</p><p>"Don't use that tone on me, child! I was here before this all started and I intend to be here when it's over!" an older, more feminine, also familiar voice replied. "And if you insist on ruining every chance for us to succeed, it's my only job to interfere! I did what I had to do."</p><p>"And now <em>He</em> has His hands on her!" the other voice exclaimed. "How does that help in any way?!"</p><p>"Oh, it does help. Just because you're too stubborn to see it, it doesn't mean it isn't there! Help is on its way and it will bring the Child of Light back. Ready your men and be ready for her return." And, with that, she left.</p><p>The Scubamon known as the Boss hated when the older Scubamon called Penelope disobeyed him, humiliated him in front of his people. And then she had the crazy idea that the Scubamon's prophecy was a fake... How could that be true, when the only other choice left was the Dark Master Himself?</p><p>But he couldn't do nothing about it: though it was hard to admit it, if it weren't for her, their village would have been the first one to disappear. Not to mention all the times she was right despite the madness of her words.</p><p>Even if unwilling, he had to obey her, and so it was with bitterness that he ordered the few troops he had left to round up and be ready to leave for the beach.</p><p>While his orders were being carried away, the Boss looked at the lighthouse that stood taller than the decrepit trees sadly, gushing out that darkness endlessly. The darkness kept on spreading continuously, faster every day, and it would soon doom them all...</p><hr/><p>Takeru Takaishi woke up from his troubled sleep two hours after, feeling much revitalized despite of the many nightmares he had. He stretched his limbs lazily and got up, ready to find Kari, even if inside that giant palace. Her life, his and all of the ones there were sure to depend on it.</p><p>The blonde drank another quarter of the water jug and then left the pantry, resuming his door-to-door search.</p><p>Food pantries, cleaning products pantries, weaponry pantries, warerooms filled with the statues that weren't in exhibition, those were the rooms T.K. found on his way. Those rooms weren't dangerous but the Child of Hope was amazed every time he entered one. This because the degradation there made him want to imagine how that place was before and that was like fuel to his quest.</p><p>But he also encountered other rooms: kitchens. He had to be very careful about these, for the Scubamon maids were there, even if busy with the cooking, or the cleaning, or both. Both male and female Scubamon were there, but they looked more like slaves than like just "maids". The Child of Hope thought of the ones living on the surface, about their misery and wounds, but these looked so much sadder, so much more hurt. Hope, he thought. It was hope that preserved the ones on the surface. These down there, enslaved and despaired, seemed to be losing some of their vitality with every second.</p><p>An hour went by, and still no clue of Kari. He hoped the Scubamon would talk to each other and let something slip, but they didn't, even though there were no guards with them. Was the fear that big? Because of that (and since he was already recovered from the trip across the Dark Ocean and the fight at the entrance of the palace), he decided it would be better if he used the powers Penelope taught him. So, while hiding inside yet another food pantry, T.K. held his Crest of Hope in his hands and spoke the words, becoming the angel again as that blissful feeling of omnipotence filled him one more time.</p><p>As soon as the transformation was over, Takeru remembered the old Scubamon's speech, and began to wonder. She had told him Hope and Light were a part of the Dark Ocean, and an important key to that situation. But, now that he had the time to think about it, he couldn't understand how that was possible... And the strangest part is that he could see the solution somewhere inside his brain, but he could not reach it...</p><p>The young man-angel shook his head. He had to focus, to use these powers to find Kari. He remembered the ability to see through blood when he was crossing the ocean, and he assumed he needed something similar to find his best friend or a clue that would get him to her. Once again, he covered his eyes with his hands and gained new powers, a kind of x-ray vision that time. When he opened his eyes again, he could see the palace as if he was looking at a transparent thee-dimensional map, a very detailed map. Takeru smiled. He got out of the pantry and began searching.</p><p>Along the corridor, he could see all the rooms he had been in, small rooms with sometimes several small skeletons in them (to his vision, at least), and, looking forward, the same small-room pattern repeated itself.</p><p>But then, right in the middle of the corridor, the routine broke. An immense room appeared before T.K.'s optimized eyes, a room with many, many rows packed with what looked like books, more books than anyone could imagine. A momentary image of the Beauty and the Beast popped into the Child of Hope's mind and he admitted it was quite similar. He looked the library over and there were no guards there. They probably had other more important things to do with their time instead of dedicating to reading.</p><p>Takeru decided to enter. Not because he expected to find Kari there, but they still needed to know if the Dark Master was the right choice, and that seemed like the appropriate place to find that out.</p><p>He entered, hopeful, but retained his x-ray vision (now hoping to find something useful to him), simply because there were too many books to be checked through normal means. He looked at every row of books carefully, eagerly, but all the vision showed him was an indistinct mass of darkness. His enthusiasm began flickering, as <em>nothing </em>his vision showed seemed to be of interest. Just to make sure that it was actually working, Takeru grabbed the first book he saw and flipped several pages. His vision was working indeed. That book was full of chanting and several painful ritual and prayers dedicated to the Dark Master. There was a picture of him there, and the blonde found it quite familiar... But he couldn't tell what kind of Digimon (if he actually were a Digimon) he was.</p><p>Slightly relieved that at least his x-ray eyes were working alright, T.K. was about to put the book back in its place when he noticed a strange light coming from there. And, behind the place where the book was supposed to be, was another book, surrounded by a grab-me-grab-me! aura. The young man's heart thumped and he hurriedly grabbed the book indeed and, by opening it, he saw it was quite different than the other. Actually, its very first page had the following words printed in bold, "Book unauthorized by His Majesty the Dark Master. All copies are to be destroyed and anyone caught with one shall respond to the proper punishment."</p><p>"<em>Well, it looks like one has survived..." </em>Takeru thought, more excited now. He didn't know if it had been fate or his instinct to help him pick up the previous book, but he was grateful to both.</p><p>He then decided to return to his human form. It wasn't wise to maintain the angelic powers when he didn't need them: he might need the energy later.</p><p>Now, with his regular, human vision, he screened the book page by page, retaining any important information.</p><p>He found out that the Dark Master was actually Dagomon, and, just like Hikari, he remembered what Izzy had said about it. He found out that he was a good leader until some kind of virus infected him and a picture was right next to that piece of information, a picture of a nine-headed-monster-shaped shadow. T.K. had a very bad feeling about that.</p><p>He found several pages about the true prophecy. Dagomon, unlike the Scubamon, was capable of controlling the power of the Chosen One, but the virus inside him would be the one to inherit it and use it to its own unknown purposes. Still, even the virus could not use it in a way to save the Dark Ocean, so neither it nor Dagomon were the right choice. Takeru's heart fell to his stomach at that. The Scubamon weren't the right choice and neither was Dagomon. There was no other form of life there... Who could possibly be the right choice? Was their situation... hopeless? Once again, he could almost grasp the solution, but he still couldn't see it...</p><p>Fortunately, the true prophecy was written there. All the others were false, based on the real one but adapted to each species' interests. It read, "When shadows befall this place, Light will come and will find itself in a hopeless situation. Still, it will find the hope in its heart and hope will give it the right answer. Follow your heart, find your answer."</p><p>The young man read the true prophecy several times to memorize it, so that he could tell it to Kari later. It seem quite logical but at the same time ambiguous and unclear. They would need to think very carefully and for a long time to crack that riddle. He looked for some explanations, but there were none.</p><p>He kept searching the book and he found the most useful thing: a map of the palace.</p><p>There were also pictures of it in the past, a gigantic seashell sitting on the sea bottom, surrounded by the purest water. The shell was semi-open and glistened with the seven colors of the rainbow. There was a wall of the same material covering the open part of it, with a giant double door and many windows. But T.K. paid little attention to it: he didn't want to reminisce again.</p><p>The map itself was incredibly detailed, and showed every room and their functions. The palace had two floors divided in many, many rooms. The palace had three main sectors: the central one, the left one and the right one. The lateral sectors were the ones divided in two floors and served only for the slaves and guards to circulate, for the rooms weren't tall enough for Dagomon to go through them. As the blonde saw, there were kitchens, pantries, small factories and everything needed to sustain a palace. The two lateral sectors were connected by two corridors that crossed the central sector transversely and already belonged to it, so both the staff and Dagomon itself could be there. The central sector was as tall as the palace and had three rooms: the hall, which connected to the front door, the throne room, which was north of it, and the Queen's bedroom, which was north of the throne room. The two transversal corridors mentioned before connected the hall with the throne room and the throne room with the Queen's bedroom.</p><p>Takeru was in the library, left sector, second floor. After reading the map, he deduced Kari was in the Queen's bedroom, for its description told it was the place for the Chosen One to stay. To get there, he needed to go down the stairs (which could be found in any corner of the palace and he remembered seeing some when he was fighting the Bloodhunter before) northwest and go right, being careful not to start any alarm and make himself noticeable. He would think of a way to enter it and rescue Kari once he got there.</p><p>So, for now, he was a man with a plan and he was ready to put it in action.</p><p>He tore the page of the book with the map and kept it in his pocket.</p><p>When he put the book back on its place, he saw the name of the author... A Scubamon called Penelope...</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>[original notes, sept 2008]</p><p>Well, that's it!</p><p>Hope you liked it (even though it was a Takeru-centered chapter ;) and I want to bring you another one soon.</p><p>As for final notes, I want to say that I've created a Takari club on deviantART, so stop by if you have a page there. It is called takari-ftw (takari-ftw . deviantart. com)</p><p>And, the voting for the second couple is still on. Taiora, Sorato or Taito? Vote in your review!</p><p>Current results:</p><p>Taiora – 48</p><p>Sorato – 41,5</p><p>Taito – 26</p><p>Have a good life!</p><p>See ya next chapter!</p><p>kathlaida-princess logging out...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. THE RIGHT CHOICE? MAYBE...</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>[original notes, dec 2008]</p><p>Hello everyone! I know I took quite a while to update, but with three other fics brewing plus school and all that comes with it, this was the best I could do... The good thing is, I got myself a laptop (where I'm writing now), so I can try to get things done faster ^^). Anyway, as usual, I appreciate all who have read this fic this far and I want to thank Aero Angel (thanks for all the motivation!), Odat (that was my purpose, so I'm glad you did, they are living creatures after all), pinayangel528 (lol, I loved the image you described to me, with T.K. and Kari fighting together as angels ^^ And about your questions, you'll find out soon enough! Thanks so much for the review!), PrincessOfHeartsNYP, Wish I Could Forget You, joeshen (well, that's the good part of writing, making people think about what happens next xD But about the thousand shards thing, I wasn't referring to the manga, I was talking about a song by the band Isis ^^ Thanks for your review! ^^), Light-of-Hope-07 (thank you so much! ^^), regie and Anonymus (sorry I couldn't reply before ^^; still here it is!)for leaving their wonderful reviews ^^</p><p>Once again, sorry for keeping you waiting!</p><p>On with the story!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>CHAPTER 12<br/></strong>
  <strong>THE RIGHT CHOICE? MAYBE...</strong>
</p><p>While a new hope began to sparkle boldly not too far away, another one kept withering, decaying into an endless shower of sorrowful, sobbing tears as the broken-hearted Hikari Kamiya was still trapped inside a lie, a very dangerous lie.</p><p>As hope dimmed, so did the light that was the two young adults' only guide inside that nightmare, but Kari didn't even notice that progressive loss. Knowing that her best friend wouldn't cross those colossal doors, wouldn't spontaneously throw a will-power-generating smirk at her and make all the doubts vanish before his golden aura, left the brunette without the only safety channel that still conveyed some sense of reality into the madness that filled the Dark Ocean, abandoned her inside a freezing hole where she could only stay still and expect nothing but the worst.</p><p>All she did was cry. She wouldn't think about trying to make herself feel better, for she thought that was only possible if she had Takeru with her, and she hadn't. The tears kept spilling with her complete consent, and she even wished they were her own blood instead, drawing her faster to the place where her best friend was taken after his last breath.</p><p>And it was all her fault. She was so weak that she couldn't face this challenge (and, after all, this was a quest made only for her) alone. Worst of all, she had to suck the greatest motivation of her life into it, and rendering him dead in yet another moment of helplessness.</p><p>Hikari wondered, imagined how lonely his last moments must have been as the ultimate whimpers of breath vanished from his lungs and his body sank deeper into the immense ocean of blood, surrendered to his own mortality. Did he reach out a hand in hopes to still rescue her? Or did he regret in the end to have a friend as troublesome as she was? Would he have been happier if he knew how much she loved him, the love she had tried to suppress for so long?</p><p>Hikari kept crying as her heart painfully squeezed. She didn't have now the ability to do anything else. For the very first time since she set foot in the Dark Ocean, the Child of Light felt completely hopeless, even without hope to ever hope again. For the first time, she understood clearly where she was and how far her home laid.</p><p>While the young woman remained in that unavoidable state of mind and couldn't care less about it, the ruler of that horrid dimension began visiting her room regularly, right before the Scubamon brought the meals and bowl of water she would barely use, for he knew his world was still dependent on the brunette's power and, more importantly, her choice.</p><p>He would resume the persuasive speech he had begun the first time they met and, in between her own sobs and tears, some of Dagomon's words did get through to her, and she would inadvertently pay attention to them. Whenever he entered her room, Kari would try to keep the greatest distance possible between them, but as time went by, the giant Digimon seemed much less dangerous to her, with some sort of hidden yet inherent sense of kindness among its hideous flesh.</p><p>On the first times he visited her, he respected her wish to be left alone and remained by the door, an immense tower of silence and tentacles. He wouldn't say a word for several minutes and he would then leave. Hikari felt bothered during those times, uneasy with that terrible presence, but her inner sorrow was stronger and kept her from noticing it too much. His gaze never fixed her nor she felt too observed.</p><p>The next times, the Dark Master dared to come closer (still with Kari's negative response) and approached the gigantic bed where the young woman laid with her sea of tears, but still brought nothing with him but silence. This would give the Child of Light the opportunity to analyze him more thoroughly where her crying paused occasionally. His gaze was fixed on the painting in the bedroom and his expression was serene, but Hikari could sometimes see an aura of suffering and sorrow surrounding him, something that surprised her a lot. Still those moments of analysis were brief, for the woman would always return to her almost catatonic state.</p><p>Finally, on the last times Dagomon came to the bedroom, he decided to begin talking, approaching her a bit more.</p><p>"You know, Chosen One, that the time for you to make a decision is rearing its end, don't you?"</p><p>Hikari looked up at him, outraged that he began the conversation in such way. Sill the Digimon carried on.</p><p>"You must know that, in situations such us ours, one life is worth sacrificing for a thousand. There is no use for Hope when Darkness is taking over our home and the Hope that you brought was only meant to take you this far."</p><p>The young woman resumed sobbing silently at the mention of her best friend.</p><p>"Down here, the only salvation is power, and the only true power is you, Chosen One. All must go according to the true prophecy, and all has gone well so far. Deep down your heart, you know that you are close to grasp the solution and it is time to act. Or do you want your friend to have died in vain?"</p><p>Confusion and the logic of the Digimon's words took their toll on the brunette, making sense to her, bringing the answer to her dilemma closer. It really was... easy... There was only one thing she could do.</p><p>"I know the things I have done are not considered the most correct, I have seen myself become something horrible, so different than what I was before... But if I am this hideous it's because this is the last thing I can do to save my people and my world, even if at the risk of hurting them, and believe it, it isn't easy for a leader to destroy his own world. I am too weak of a King to give more for my people, I need my Queen to lend me that power. Know that you are the only Queen the prophecy begs for."</p><p>With this, the Dark Master would abandon the room, leaving the human with her thoughts. And Hikari found rightness in what Dagomon said, an immense sense of clearness that swept over her mind and showed her the way, even with some stings of doubt.</p><p>The next few times, the leader would return with a similar and very logical speech, further taking Hikari away progressively from her numbness and making her consider a choice for the first time in what seemed like a very long time. When he left, the young woman would bring a hand to her chest and would digest all the new information and feelings, trying to imagine what Takeru would do if he were still there.</p><p>And it came clearly to her. He would be so disappointed to see her so beat down, so hopeless. He would suffer to see her that sad and Kari knew he would blame himself really hard for having left her alone. The Child of Light soon realized that she had the duty to use the chance his friend gave her by keeping her safe, to accomplish the mission she knew she had the moment she entered the Dark Ocean. Even if it meant trusting a monster, she was already proved that Dagomon was the only possible choice in that deserted place.</p><p>A new, never-heard-before voice whispered inside her head tentatively, approving her thoughts, encouraging her to step forward.</p><p>"<em>That's right, Hikari... It is simple, isn't it?"</em></p><p>With it, the last traces of questioning released Hikari, allowing her to make a decision.</p><p>She would give her power to Dagomon, ruler of the Dark Ocean and the only Digimon capable of handling the Light inside and using it to save his world. She would do it for Takeru, she would do it because it was her mission as the Child of Light, she would do it so that she could finally return home.</p><p>And she would do it now.</p><p>The young woman moved her limbs on the bed for the first time in quite a while, and they lazily responded to her, though a bit sore from the lack of use. It took her some effort to crawl out of the bed and onto the white floor, but once she stepped on it and began heading towards the massive door, something completely unexpected happened.</p><p>Kari felt a sudden burn against the skin around her neck and another inner voice made itself noticeable, though much louder, much warmer and much closer to her heart.</p><p>"<em>Have you gone completely crazy, Hikari Yagami Kamiya?! Look around you, closely... Look what he has done to you, how he </em><em>took advantage of you!"</em></p><p>Utterly confused, the brunette rubbed the burnt skin and noticed it was her Crest of Light that reacted. She looked around carefully as she was advised and noticed something her previously "comatosed" eyes didn't.</p><p>Crawling languidly all over the floor were many tendrils of extremely familiar nigh-transparent dark fog, many of them reaching her bed and reaching for her, holding onto her. Hikari recognized it immediately: it was the same substance that made her turn against T.K. and try to kill him. Dark sorcery. One of Dagomon's powers.</p><p>Sure that what he had told her before had some logic in it (it had all the logic if you really thought about it), but for the leader to use those means to control her and for her own Crest of Light to react like that to her decision, Kari knew the solution was still far away and that she had been about to make a terrible mistake, as another of Dagomon's puppets.</p><p>Still, one good thing came from that experience. Even without Takeru, she still had to react and carry on. She had to get as far as she could from that place and all things clouding her mind, not letting her make a fair decision.</p><p>Walking around the room in circles while trying to disperse the dark fog, Hikari looked for a way to get out. Her eyes landed upon a huge jade statue, right beside the great door, as tall as she was. That surely was heavy. The next time Dagomon came, the Child of Light would have a surprise ready for him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>[original notes, dec 2008]</p><p>And this is it, for now... Sorry if you think it is too short, this is all you are supposed to know so far.</p><p>Still I do hope you enjoyed and, well, merry Christmas to you all, my lovelies!</p><p>I have some fanfictions to start and I'll then update this one (sooner, now that I have a laptop).</p><p>What should the second couple be, Taiora, Sorato or Taito?</p><p>Current results:</p><p>Taiora – 49</p><p>Sorato – 42,5</p><p>Taito – 26</p><p>See you all next chapter!</p><p>kathlaida-princess logging out...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. CLOSING IN</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>[original notes, feb 2009]</p><p>Hello everyone! Fortunately for you, I have been behaving and writing regularly all my stories, so I guess you didn't have to wait as long as before for this chapter (even if it's a short one) ^^ I'll try to keep it this way! Anyway, as usual I want to thank all the readers and also Odat (the next chapter will be rather fluffy ^^), joeshen (thank you so much, as a writer-wannabe, it's good to know that), Light-of-Hope-07 (thank you, I try my best to do so and I'm glad at least one person is completely satisfied with it ^^), thunderbird, Aero Angemon, CarrieUnderwoodFan, Lurker of fiction (wow, thank you! :)), and womynrule for your wonderful job keeping me motivated! :D I really hope you enjoy this chapter. The next one (no 14) will be my favorite one :D</p><p>On with the story!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>CHAPTER 13<br/></strong>
  <strong>CLOSING IN</strong>
</p><p>Confident steps now trailed their way into the great unknown of the palace, silently (and hopefully) bringing their owner to his so sought-after destination. A hand every once in a while made its way to a trousers' pocket and fished a ripped page with a map drawn on it, allowing dimmed sapphire blue eyes to make sure they were still on their route.</p><p>Because Takeru felt like he had already wasted too much time gathering information on the whereabouts of his most precious person and a pulling feeling in his gut whispered that any more delays would jeopardize his mission.</p><p>As the blond found himself in the same long, despairingly white, haunting corridor, he tried his best to maintain a steady and rather speedy rhythm as he hid from the occasionally guards crossing his path, and he was rather lucky that no extraordinary measures (like the last encounter he had with a Bloodhunter) weren't needed. Still, T.K. was positive that things would become more complicated as he approached his goal, especially the "how-to-get-to-where-Kari-is" part. But the fact of him being the Child of Hope helped him feel a bit more optimistic that he would easily find a solution for that.</p><p>A few more minutes going north through the corridor led Takeru to the long awaited flight of stairs, the one that would take him to the first floor and then to the Queen's Chambers. The blond flinched at the thought. To him, Hikari being the queen of the one they called the Dark Master (a Dagomon!) was not a reassuring reality and, for the "Master's" sake, he only hoped he had not laid a finger, hand, paw or whatever he had as a upper limb to hurt the Child of Light.</p><p>T.K. trotted down the stairs in a slightly impatient pace and rather carelessly, but fortunately, Luck had its protective arms hovering above him and his path, for no monsters noticed his presence. Once he reached the ground floor, his destination filled his vision as he turned his head to the left. Unforgiving pale wall also stood there, but there was a different kind of door breaking the white monotony, a door the blond knew that led to the central sector of the underwater palace and, consequently, to where Kari was.</p><p>The Child of Hope's first impulse was to run through that door right away, waste no more painful time to save the woman he surely loved. However, his more rational part (and he couldn't afford to ignore that one in the situation he was in) warned him to be careful, for danger was bound to bump into him at any time.</p><p>That was why Takeru decided to calm down his feet as he headed towards the final door, bringing a nervous hand to the doorknob, fearing but at the same time ready for whatever might lay beyond it.</p><p>The door parted from the wall just enough for a pair of azure eyes slightly narrowed in analysis to sketch the overall environment of the main corridor, and what T.K. saw certainly hit him with a problematic change in his plans.</p><p>First of all, the room was surprisingly big for a corridor, making the rest of the palace seem like a doll house in comparison for it. The ceiling stood so tall that he could barely distinguish it from where he was and a sudden feeling of fear squished his heart. He had read in the book that the central sector was built like that because it was the only part of the building that the Dark Master could travel through, and that made the Digi-destined wonder… how unbelievable was their opponent really like?</p><p>Then, as to keep up with the ridiculous size of everything else, were two double doors marking two opposite walls, severe, immense and impassable, surely the gateways for only the Dark Master to use.</p><p>But Takeru didn't even had the chance to think about how he would find a way to move them since he was too busy noticing the third thing. On each side of the massive door to the left were two guards. Two Black Gesomon guards. Two Black Gesomon guards that had visibly grown further ahead than the ones who had faced the human "visitors" throughout the Dark Ocean and were surely bulky enough not to be defeated by their own sleeping venom.</p><p>THAT, to T.K., was the main problem right then. Before he could worry about working through the door and reach the Child of Light, he would have to find a way to bypass those keepers with life still inhabiting his body.</p><p>The blond immediately closed the door, turning back to the smaller corridor, and slowly felt his entire body slide down the now-seeming miniature door until he found himself sitting on the cold floor in frustration. Both his hands grasped his boiling head fiercely, as if rummaging for a solution, a single idea that would allow him to walk this last (and, God, so little!) distance between him and Hikari.</p><p>A stream of ideas filled his mind, but none of them was enough. First, he tried to wait for the guards to take a break. He patiently stood by the door frame for hours, such a long time that his body began hurting from the stillness, but the squid Digimon remained as still, never twitching, shrugging and almost not breathing, and T.K. saw that his first plan had been mercilessly dismissed.</p><p>Next, he tried the best distraction maneuvers he could come up with, successfully hurling small objects he found into several jars and statues located on the opposite side of the room but, although both Gesomon noticed the ruckus, only one of them headed there to check what it was all about, and yet one more idea fell useless.</p><p>Other more desperate solutions ran across him. Brute strength, bluntly approaching and hope for the best, something as ridiculous as joke his way out of problems. He even considered yell out Kari's name so that at least he could know if she was okay. But these thoughts withered as soon as they showed up: Takeru was fully aware that they were a mere fruit of his hopelessness, and one thing he was sure of was that Hope was the only thing he could rely on.</p><p>The blond, returning once more to the empty smaller corridor, brought himself back to his thinking position, this time however grasping the Crest of Hope around his neck with both his hands. He didn't forget he still had that power (he was even sure that it would be the best solution for his situation), but he still wasn't sure how to use it. The previous experiences had taught Takeru that the potential of the small object was bigger than what his imagination could conceive, and the young man wanted to milk it all, if it really was the only way to save Hikari.</p><p>A small realization appeared out of the blue. Of course he couldn't go past the guards with strength, distraction maneuvers or anything that would keep them away from him (he already found out that he did not have what it took to succeed in that). The Digi-destined would have to go pass the guards with their FULL CONSENTMENT. Only with that could he enter unharmed and leave unharmed with Hikari also safe.</p><p>But… how?</p><p>What in the world could he possibly do to make those two giants allow a human intruder (that, coincidently was also known to be trying to rescue their "Chosen One") to enter the Queen's Chambers?</p><p>A new torrent of outrageous ideas filled his mind and ears, but one of the most outrageous was the most appropriate too.</p><p>Transformation.</p><p>His face immediately lit up in success. Of course, he could transform into one of the creatures in the palace to get past the guards, and for that he had the Crest and the powers Penelope taught him. He considered the many species inhabiting the palace. The Dark Master… Well, that would be the best choice, but Takeru just had that single image of the book in his mind and he really didn't know how to mimic a Dagomon's behavior. The Bloodhunters. The blond even chuckled sadly at that. Yes, a gigantic, blood-thirsty beast would certainly be the ticket in. (Exit Sarcasm-mode). The Black Gesomon. Well, they were the guard's species after all, but it seemed rather illogical and unusual for them to actually have any tasks to accomplish inside the queen's bedroom.</p><p>T.K. was left with one last choice: the Scubamon. And he genuinely smiled at that. They were the perfect disguise. He had seen them before, working as maids for the Dark Ocean's ruler, and he realized that they were probably responsible for preparing some sort of meal for the Child of Light. He would be able to get past the mighty guards if he were pretending to be a Scubamon, just there to present Kari with food.</p><p>He nodded enthusiastically and repeated the motions he was now familiar with: holding the crest, speaking the words, surrendering to the overwhelming bliss and light invading him and transforming him into an angel. As usual, a smile relaxed Takeru's expression and gave him peace of mind, and he was ready to put his plan in action. He pictured the skeleton-looking Scubamon with his closed eyes and hoped that this would work. But, then again, Hope was the only thing he had left.</p><p>And, fortunately, his hope was enough to grant him his wish, and the blond felt his body mutate again, the wings fading away, the skin covering with dry scales, most of the flesh leaving him, all his senses decreasing sharply as other body parts developed. Fearfully, the Child of Hope was glad that he only had to sustain that form for a limited form, for it was already taking its toll on him.</p><p>Facing a nearby mirror, he nodded approvingly at the success of the transformation, but what to do now?</p><p>The Scubamon-shaped young man stood still and a distant background noise filled his senses: metallic tingling, pots and pans banging against each other, all the rattle that reminded the blond of a kitchen. It was their meal time, he was sure. Now was the chance to go on with the rest of his plan and, maybe (and oh please, please!), to bring Kari finally back to safety…</p><p>With that known, Takeru used one more part of his energy to make a small tray with a strange-looking meal on it appear on one of his hands and used another scaly one to grasp the door, his path to victory or failure…</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>[original notes, feb 2009]</p><p>And that's it for now… The next chapter is actually already half written (and it's my favorite one too!), so it will be fast to be posted :)</p><p>I hope you liked this one though!</p><p>As for the secondary couple, what would you like it to be? Taiora, Sorato or Taito? Vote with your review.</p><p>Current Results:</p><p>Taiora –52</p><p>Sorato – 44,5</p><p>Taito – 26</p><p>See ya next chapter!</p><p>kathlaida-princess logging out…</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. FROM LIGHT, TO HOPE, WITH LOVE</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>[original notes, may 2009]</p><p>Hello dearest readers! I'm finally updating this, after having to finish a request fic first :) Anyway, here is my favorite chapter xD As usual, I want to thank Aster Selene (thank you! :D), KoumiLoccness (I have Koumi planned for chapter 16, don't worry! :)), Magic713, Aero Angemon (thank you so, so much!), HLTI, pinayangel528 (I'm really glad you think I keep things realistic :D Thanks so much!), Odat (here comes fluff indeed! xD), guardien1204, Red Riding Freak (viva Taito! xD), redsfan22002 (I'm glad this story is this emotive ^^), senses236 and Junior472 (thanks!). Happy reading!</p><p>On with the story!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>CHAPTER 14</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>FROM LIGHT, TO HOPE, WITH LOVE</strong>
</p><p>In this kind of situation, any normal person would probably be devoid of control over their own nerves, would be constantly thinking about all the dangers in their way, or the terrible consequences each little accidental mistake could bring upon themselves. But, even though Takeru Takaishi was a normal person (if you took of the fact that he was a digidestined and he was now taking the shape of a very nightmare-like creature), he wouldn't have survived half the time he was surviving if he had given too much attention to all those details. After all, being the Child of Hope did have its perks.</p><p>Food tray steadily laying on a raised hand, the Scuba-T.K. bent the corner of the huge white corridor, trying to keep all the calm that everyone would relate to him and his comforting smile as he moved towards a massive door and, most importantly, its just-as-massive guards. The noise of the feet of the young man's new body was probably what triggered the gigantic squid-like Digimon to look down at him and realize what he was trying to do and, before they let him step any further, a multitude of tentacles was sliding over the passage and the left Gesomon asked him, "What are you doing here?"</p><p>That was an easy question… So far, so good. "I'm bringing dinner to the Chosen One, sir." The blond inwardly grimaced at his new voice.</p><p>But the tentacles only moved further. "Isn't it a bit too early to be serving dinner?" the other one asked.</p><p>And he soon found a quick, plausible answer for that one too. "I wouldn't know. I was just given this and ordered to deliver it. And I just follow orders."</p><p>To make his role as the submissive servant more natural, Takeru lowered his head, but he could still sense the engines inside the two guards working. He expectantly waited until they spoke again.</p><p>But neither of them spoke. The young man raised his head when he heard more of the tentacles rustling, but this time in the opposite direction, and he almost sighed in relief when he saw the door before him free of obstacles and opening.</p><p>"Go inside then. And don't forget to bring the plates back when she's finished."</p><p>Returning to his path forward, T.K. nodded. All the better, it only meant he would have more time to get Hikari out of there. As he crossed the doorway, the door was closing again and everything behind him seemed to disappear, such was his focus on what was in front of him.</p><p>As soon as the massive door closed behind him, the spell Takeru put around him faded away and he returned to his normal form. But, as he frantically looked over the huge bedroom, there was still no sign of Kari…</p><p>However, he was caught by surprise when a heavy-looking statue passed right in front of him, making the food tray fall to the hard floor. He had to thank his new and acute instincts for being able to escape that powerful blow. But the same statue came across him again and he could only stop it by holding it back tightly with his hands. He then looked at the person who was trying to attack him. It was a scared-to-death Kari. A torrent of overwhelmingly good emotions swept over him. Thank God his nightmare hadn't come true… Still fighting against her immense strength, the young man called her.</p><p>"Kari, it's me… Takeru…"</p><p>But Kari just seemed to get really angry at that sentence. How dared Dagomon play like that with her feelings? Hadn't she suffered enough already? She put even more strength on that endured blow. And she would surely take T.K. down if she hadn't made eye contact to him.</p><p>Those eyes, the same cerulean and hopeful ones that had always helped her, that had made her live through that hell, just to be closed forever when they were trying to save her again. But no one could ever imitate the intensity of that blue, there wasn't enough magic in the whole world to recreate neither the color nor the warmth they transmitted… Dagomon had lied to her… T.K. was still alive…</p><p>Kari dropped the statue to the floor and just leapt into his arms all of a sudden, letting then the tears come out.</p><p>Only God knew how lonely and desperate she had felt, how much she missed him or how much she blamed herself for his supposed death. Having him right there, feeling his warm arms circling her trembling waist caringly even if strongly and having his chin buried deeply in her hair just seemed to make her realize how much she needed him now, how much she wanted him now, how much she wished he would never leave her again. Her tears were filled with all the fear she had felt as well as the longing she experienced. But Takeru just placed a loving hand on her chin and lifted her head a bit, blissful fireworks also bursting inside his heart, making her crying eyes meet his deep ones.</p><p>"I'm fine," he said, with the surest tone in the world.</p><p>Kari looked at him. His once golden hair was now covered with the cursed blood of the Dark Ocean (and other blood too, but she wouldn't know), his shirt was almost ripped to pieces and his entire body was covered in scratches. He didn't seem to be very well… But then she stared at his eyes again and none of that seemed to matter anymore. She saw the same longing, the same need, the same despair she had felt staring right back at her and, right then, he looked more handsome than she ever remembered him. She now knew she didn't have to hide her feelings anymore, not only because she didn't want to be without him ever again or to lie to him any longer but also because she knew she couldn't fight them anymore. Love was what she felt, and love was what she could see shining of Takeru's eyes. Love was what they both needed to survive that place, and what both could share with each other. And the two knew they were doing the right thing. She heard her heart whispering, "Go on, take your next step…" And that was how a simple, platonic embrace turned into something more…</p><p>Without even noticing what they were doing, their lips drew nearer to each other.</p><p>First they hesitated, their hearts jumping, but then there was no more room for doubt and their lips locked in their very first kiss, and from that moment on, there was no turning back.</p><p>The first kisses they shared were shy and fearful, but the sweetest and the most remembered, for it was the first time they tasted the other's lips, it was the first time they knew how love really felt like, the first time they let that flavor stimulate their bodies, the first time they felt they were completely honest to each other. But they soon realized that their love was much more than just a kiss and it all changed.</p><p>Their kisses became more defying, curious and arousing: their first impression had been very good, it tasted much better than what they imagined, but it still wasn't enough to free all the love they held inside and the more they kissed, the more they were longing for the other's lips.</p><p>So, they changed again. They became passionate, furious, hungry and blistering, as if they were trying to make up a lifetime without this fire in just one minute, as if it was the last time they would be together, as if their lives depended on that kiss. Takeru and Hikari's hearts melted in pleasure, for their tongues' touch was far more overwhelming then the finest treat, their curiosity made them explore a new world of brand new emotions, their veins were being pumped with a powerful electricity that made them carry on and together discover that uncharted territory.</p><p>Then, T.K.'s arms snaked more tightly around Kari's waist, bringing her even closer, and her hands went up his neck and face just to rest on his hair, holding onto it passionately. Takeru's hair was one of the things she liked the most about him, and always wanted to touch it, caress it, feel it, and it really had a smooth touch and an irresistible sweet scent, not at all dimmed from their arduous journey.</p><p>Every inch of their bodies touched, along with their lips, tongues, noses and foreheads. That proximity brought them safety, warmth, pleasure, more than they had ever dreamed they could feel. But it seemed that every new thing they tried was even better than before and they just wanted to keep going, to see how far two young lovers could go, to see how far they could run away from that hell they were in.</p><p>As if everything that was going on wasn't enough to say it, Takeru interrupted the desired kiss and said, panting heavily, his forehead still connected to Kari's, "I love you, Hikari, I-…"</p><p>But she interrupted him back, going on kissing him fervently, making clear that there was no need for words that moment: their bodies and actions had enough sweetness and fervor to express how much they loved each other.</p><p>How could they hide that for that long? Deprive themselves from that sweet suffering? Cage that powerful love and desire without being destroyed? They didn't know, but it didn't matter now, nothing else mattered besides them.</p><p>And then, almost unnoticed, the still passionately kissing two recent-found lovers headed slowly towards the big bed on the opposite side of the room, without vacillation, without doubts, knowing it was the right thing to do.</p><p>Hikari sat near the middle of the bed and Takeru knelt down between her legs. He intended to go on kissing her lovingly, but she stopped him with her fingers. She held his hands instead and he lowered his head till it was lower than Kari's eyes, in submission. Her heart melted with his kindness and respect, even on those critical moments and she started kissing up his neck, slowly, savoring every millimeter of his salty skin, delighted in pleasure, hearing him panting quicker due to that feeling. When she finally reached T.K.'s ear, she stopped for a moment and whispered to him, "Take me to your heaven, my angel".</p><p>And Takeru, panting heavily, just put a gentle hand on her cheek and asked, their faces dangerously close, "R-really?"</p><p>But Kari just smiled tenderly to him and pulled him to a new eager kiss.</p><p>For that instant on, the two young adults started together a whole new journey, the journey to find what their bond was really meant to be: something irreversible and powerful, everlasting. It was true they were scared and it was also true that they were more nervous than ever, but they didn't let it stop them, as their hearts whispered them the next step, their love guided them through that new path.</p><p>And then the longing of touch grew up, the desire of the tanned rough skin to meet the pale delicate one. So, their clothes, all the thin fabric that separated them, were an obstacle to that new and terrifying adventure that emerged on the horizon. Because of that, among their passionate kisses and the unruly beating of their hearts, Hikari started undressing him, slowly, unbuttoning his already ripped shirt, feeling his well-defined abdominal muscles due to the basketball training, sliding her hands through his deliciously sun-kissed skin (blessed trainings!) to his broad shoulders, feeling his pleasure moans softened by their kiss, going through his hurt yet pleasingly muscled arms until her hands reached his heavenly ones, which was the moment when Kari pulled out his shirt with a tug from behind, the moment when T.K. saw himself briefly away from his goddess, and found himself longing for the passion of her lips. Then, making up for that ephemeral instant of separation, Hikari kissed Takeru even more fiercely, while unbuttoning his pants and taking them off little by little along with his boxers, outlining his legs with her hands downwards.</p><p>Kari used some time to stare at him from head to knee (for he was knelt in front of her) like she had never before, in all his immense splendor. To her, all his body was of a beauty and perfection worthy of a Greek God and, along with his expression of pure innocence and his muscled arms folded behind his back, Takeru looked just like a gorgeous young angel. Only the big white wings were missing.</p><p>Kari looked at him with an affectionate smile and T.K. blushed under it, smiling tenderly too. "What?" he asked.</p><p>And she barely answered, "Nothing…" But T.K. could read satisfaction on her eyes.</p><p>And then it was his turn. He and Kari joined foreheads and noses again, exchanging a new brief yet fiery look before their lips connected in another kiss and the pleasing ritual began again. This time, Takeru rested his hands gently on her ivory legs and went them through towards her head, taking the tip of the white dress with him. He delineated her round hips, his kind hands sliding smoothly over her silky skin, outlining her slender and delicate waist, sending Kari goosebumps to her spine. He passed by her full breasts and reached her arm-pits, going also through her arms to take off her dress without damaging it (it was still a queen's dress). During the moment the dress blocked his contact with Kari's lips, Takeru idolized her neck. But when the dress was finally taken off, while they were once again embraced, right before they kissed another time, T.K. also stared at her from head to knee, showing the same smile she showed before.</p><p>"What?!" she asked with a laugh.</p><p>"Nothing…" he answered, using the same tone she had used previously.</p><p>And she said, "This is payback from before, isn't it?"</p><p>He just smiled, but Kari could also see the same satisfaction on his eyes.</p><p>For some time, the two lovers just enjoyed the magic of their fierce kisses and the greater-than-ever proximity of their bodies, hands roaming free. But later, Kari, who was still well wrapped around him, brought them right to the middle of the bed and, releasing from Takeru's lips sweet prison for a second, covered the couple with a thin white blanket, while lying down on her back, letting him kneel between her legs again. Then, they shared the last yet deepest look of that unbelievable night.</p><p>However unbelievable it seemed, there was no darkness there, underneath the blanket. It was easy to see Takeru's gold-made hair color, damped with the blood from the Dark Ocean, which Kari cuddled with an everlasting tenderness. It was easy to see the most majestic tone of blue in his eyes, which showed all the love and passion he felt for Kari, all the fire inside him, happy for being finally released. It was easy to see that Kari's hair was of a chocolate-like brown and her ruby-colored eyes transmitted the same splendor and fire that T.K.'s did. Of course Darkness could never remain there on that moment: the bond, the power there present was much greater than it.</p><p>Kari then started running her fingers across his face, reluctantly leaving his irresistible hair, brushing his blonde eyebrows with her fingers, circling his eyelids with her thumbs, outlining his cheeks, going through his nose, caressing his sweet smiling lips, which whispered the kindest thing with the smoothest tone in the world when she was going round his ears, "You are so beautiful, Hikari…"</p><p>Her hands stopped then, letting their owner smile broadly to Takeru's compliment, and Kari soon realized that their desire was growing too big to be satisfied with mere looks and stokes on their faces. So, she just let her hands reach his neck and grab hold of the powerful Crest of Hope he wore for ten years and she pulled him towards her slowly with it, in a tight embrace, in a final embrace.</p><p>Their tongues explored the once forbidden places of the other's mouth and skin, their loving hands outlined the silhouette of the other passionately, them both melted inside in sweetness.</p><p>Kari wrapped T.K. very tight by his waist, never wanting to let him go anymore, intensely kissing his neck. He held her back as tightly, his arms going along with the line of her back, his lips also tasting the sugariness of her neck. The two lovers were so locked in that embrace that one could never distinguish which body parts belonged to whom. Somewhere in the pith of their souls, the two lovers' bodies found a rhythm, a periodic, loving and overwhelming rhythm, the only rhythm capable of freeing all the fire they held, of expressing all the love they felt. The pleasure they experienced would come to be greater than most of other lovers in the world, not only because Takeru overloaded every action with his characteristic gentleness and niceness but also because it had been love, more than everything, that had brought them there, and with love and care, everything becomes sweeter.</p><p>Tanned skin on pale skin, tender lips on fierce lips, rushing heart on longing heart, pure love on pure love.</p><p>Besides all the happiness and pleasure, the two best friends/best lovers felt as if it was the most correct thing they had ever done, as if it was already written in the stars, said by the oracles, engraved by the prophets, as if they had been born for that moment, lived for that moment, made every decision, taken every step and action and committed every mistake just to get to that moment. On that moment, the two were just one: every hand, every lip, every curve fit the other's perfectly. Both their bodies danced the same song, both their hearts beat imperfectly and rowdily, but at the same time, both their souls desired the other with all their strength, both of them proclaimed the same pure love.</p><p>When the time came, when their hearts couldn't stand that sweet torture anymore, when that rhythmic dance reached its highest point, the two lovers overcame the barrier of what we normally call time and space, raised above all the limits of any vulgar human affection and reached a much higher level. If they had stretched their arms up, they could have touched the sky and reached Heaven, where they would be completely alone, but being with each other, they would be with all they needed. It was a moment that remained always engraved in their memories, a moment that they would never forget.</p><p>When the fire inside them started to slowly fade away, they still weren't willing to let go, afraid if everything had been nothing but a dream, a trick of the frail human mind to make them carry on with their journey, and that they were still living the worst of nightmares, apart from each other. But Takeru could feel Hikari so close to him, touch her silky skin, brush away the sweat on her forehead with his lips, feel her panting on his neck, and so he feared no more, and by lessening the hug, he fell slowly to the right side of the bed, taking the blanket off a bit, his eyes still closed, panting heavily. Kari was also breathing intensely, her eyes also closed, still letting her mind record every second of that magical moment. That was their strength, that was the power they could reach together. She whispered, finally opening her brown eyes, "Thank you, T.K., for everything. I thought I would never see you again, I thought everything was lost… But you're here…"</p><p>He opened his blue eyes too and caressed her face adoringly, while saying slowly, "I love you, Kari. I wouldn't let anything happen to me before I'd take you home safe and sound".</p><p>And she, resuming stroking his damp hair, answered, "I love you too, Takeru, I have always had". He just let go one of his disarming smiles and she couldn't help but give into it, smiling broadly too.</p><p>"Did I hurt you?" he asked all of a sudden.</p><p>"You could never hurt me, T.K."</p><p>Pure Happiness was stamped on their eyes, their expressions. She leant against him, resting her head on his sweated chest, over his stretched arm, while he kissed her forehead lovingly and put his other arm over her waist. It didn't take long until the two of them fell asleep, close to each other as they never had been before, surrounded by such a positive aura that even the Devil himself wouldn't be able to look at it without getting blind. They didn't have nightmares that night: the Dark Ocean could never affect them together, even them being on its most recondite place.</p><p>And that was how they found the brightest Light in the deepest Darkness, an endless light that would repeat itself over and over again in years to come.</p><hr/><p>But however bright the two lovers' light was, outside the bedroom Darkness still reigned and, not long after Takeru shrewdly joined Hikari, another Scubamon had come, presenting an identical food tray to the Gesomon guards.</p><p>This Scubamon too claimed to be bringing food to the Chosen One and, after a long interrogation, it was clear its intentions were true.</p><p>But, if this was the <em>real </em>Scubamon servant, what had really been the other one's true purposes?</p><p>The squid-like Digimon intended to enter Kari's room immediately and try to solve that problem, but before they could even open the door, Dagomon himself appeared behind them, his smile of tentacles wide on his face.</p><p>"It was the boy who got inside," he merely stated. "He covered his trail of blood very well until now, but I've finally found him."</p><p>"But… but that's not possible, the palace is co-…"</p><p>"I don't care about you foolish excuses now!" the Dark Master shut the guard up with a shout. "It doesn't even matter anymore. Let them be, for now… Let them think everything will be alright for them. Let them hope. Tomorrow I will kill him myself."</p><hr/><p>Under both Kari's and sleep's embrace, Takeru saw things with his eyes closed that night. His dream was completely covered in white and had no one in it, but one single word was said, in a very acute tone of voice…</p><p>
  <em>"Kibou…"</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>[original notes, may 2009]</p><p>Woo, my favorite chapter is finally written! :D And the funny thing is, I had already written the middle part years ago…</p><p>Sorry if it took too long to update… ^^;</p><p>Hope you really liked it!</p><p>Which should be the second couple?</p><p>Taiora –53</p><p>Sorato – 46,5</p><p>Taito – 27</p><p>kathlaida-princess logging out…</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. THE DAY OF BROKEN SOLACE</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>[original notes, may 2011]</p><p>Hello, dearest readers! I'm really going to stop promising quicker updates when I obviously fail and disappoint you in that department every time. I'm sorry :| Anyway, THANK YOU SO MUCH for the very positive reception the last (and my favorite!) chapter got from you, guys, it really means a lot that you liked my semi-lemon so much :D As usual, I want to thank puasluoma (thank you so very much! I am really working hard to be one, I really hope I get lucky! :) ), Magic713 (the second couple should only appear near the end of the story, but some innuendos for other couples will be given in the next chapter), joeshen (have I mentioned I love long reviews? Well, now I have xD thank you so much for the very nice words, adding details is one of my favorite things to do in a story, and it's wonderful to see it well-liked! As for the cliffhanger… I'll apologize in advance for this one xD), Kagebana (thank you so much, they are my first and foremost OTP, so I'm glad to see their getting together being loved! And it's okay if you missed reviewing a chapter, it's wonderful enough knowing that you've read this one more than once!), Odat (I missed writing the fluff for this pairing and I needed these two chapters to appease my hunger xD), karika88 (thank you very much! ;D ), Aster Selene (I'll try, but I promise nothing xD sorry if it was too much!), Ty Son of Battle (I will probably give my vote to that option myself!), Thunder Claw03, brokenLogic (thank you so much and I'm sorry that it's now two years…), inuyashadigimonforever (thank you!), T.K. Angel (thank you, I'm very glad you think so!), Dr. William Bell (I hope you enjoy this one, and thank you!), chance2change (thank you!), Marika-P, dale89 (now that you mention it, many parts of the story are quite mature and tend to be more as I grow older too… I need to change the summary xD and don't worry, even if slowly, this story will be finished! I'm just sorry it's taking so long), Takariforever and Hikari and Takeru (thank you so very much, and I agree!)in particular for having reviewed, since feedback is the best prize a growing writer can get!</p><p>Here's me hoping this chapter will be half as interesting as the previous one, although it will probably leave you quite frustrated ^^;</p><p>On with the story!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>CHAPTER 15<br/></strong>
  <strong>THE DAY OF BROKEN SOLACE</strong>
</p><p>"<em>I linger in the doorway</em></p><p>
  <em>Of alarm-clock screaming monsters calling my name…</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Let me stay, where the wind will whisper to me,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Where the raindrops as they're falling tell a story…"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>Imaginary – Evanescence</strong>
  </em>
</p><hr/><p>The sweet, grainy blanket of the Sandman had been smoothly retreating for the past few minutes-eternities, sliding away from Hikari's slumbering skin. She wanted to grumble at being released from such a tender dream, but then she felt relaxed brushes of sleepy breath washing over her forehead and knew there was no dream as tender as that.</p><p>The young woman woke up with a smile. Soon afterwards the reality of where, when and why shook the remnants of Wonderland out of her love-imprisoned body, but the smile did not falter one bit.</p><p>How could it, when the memory of so much happiness was still so fresh in her senses? The Dark Ocean was still powerless against that. Outside the world was grey, but inside her world still glowed with gold and ruby.</p><p>Sliding her hands slowly over Takeru's rested skin, the brunette motioned to stretch, carefully not to wake her lover, stifling a long yawn not to make a rumpus. As she turned her body to her side, Kari's hair brushed down her shoulders, and she could relish on the sight of the Child of Hope's heart-melting, innocent expression.</p><p>She stole his crest for a while, hoping in vain for all their problems to merely dissolve, to allow them to live this new world properly. She felt overwhelmed, for only yesterday she would never imagine all this would happen. She felt guilty, for not having plucked the courage her brother always taught her to nourish and not make it happen sooner.</p><p>But the past allows no discussion and this present offered a brilliant future in any case. How much easier would this adventure be now they were once more reunited! Hikari would not complain anymore. She now stole T.K.'s lips for a while, caressing them softly with her own, bait for good omens…</p><p>Some minutes passed by in this half-dream, and in her half-awakening Hikari was reminded of the castle master's daily routine of visiting her every morning. Though she wished to remain in that serenity for longer and knew that it still was horribly early, she had to hurry. But she didn't want to shake Takeru out of his rest just now, for only God knew how much he needed it.</p><p>So, silently, reluctantly, she motioned to slither out of her love nest, taking once again care not to disturb the blond beside her. Her expression was a mirror of concentration, her movements executed as if by a real, predating feline… However, Kari's escape strategy was just scraping success when her left arm suddenly felt a thousand times heavier and she fell back, startled, to her starting point.</p><p>"Gottcha!" an impish voice came from above, and in between the white folds of the sheets, the smooth expanse of skin and a thick array of golden hair, Hikari glimpsed the very awake smile of her best friend, his hand firmly keeping her close.</p><p>A smile that was returned just as playfully, while the Child of Light followed her predatory instincts all the way to Takeru's ticklish spots and attacked them in all fronts. Many things won't change when a friendship hasn't either: just grow, evolve. And T.K. grew eloquent in laughter, with his friend's strike.</p><p>"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Kari chuckled as a reply, relentless in her advance.</p><p>Having his back dented to the soft mattress hit Takeru as a surprising outcome to his amazing thoroughly-thought plan, but he was far from losing this serious match of wills of steel! In a swift movement, he switched his own position with Hikari's, and now on top of her, he regained advantage once more, while his lips unavoidably, subtly began tracing the curve of her chin. Her uncontrolled sounds of laughter filled the air, but they were quickly muffled by another emotion, one that spread when her senses grew more focused on the caresses (now) upon her neck.</p><p>Their battle soon assumed another, subliminal, level, as the playful movement of fingers faded to Takeru's growing kiss. He felt like he couldn't control this urge to kiss his friend, his lover. Hadn't he stupidly waited for this for so long? Now that this dream was unveiled before him, he knew he had to hold onto it, cherish and protect it, prevent it from ever waking.</p><p>As the Child of Hope's mouth went lower, Kari moved to accommodate it, thrilled with these all new sensations, happy with these new achievements. She joined paper to pen, her skin to Takeru's kiss, and the two would have gradually relived their previous night, this time more slowly, willing to try everything their imaginations had saved up till then, to know what was good and what was best, if there hadn't been a blunt pang of worry, of awareness about where they were and what lurked beyond those sacred walls.</p><p>Hikari suddenly stopped moving and fell silent. Takeru, worried that he might have done something wrong, looked up from his spot over her naked womb, his confused gaze questioning more than words could ever do. His lover looked almost sad now, explaining, "We… we can't… He's coming, and we have to get ready for it."</p><p>Her words awakened a sort of dark reality inside the young man, something he was trying to deny until now, but knew quite well he had to deal with it. The Child of Hope nodded sadly, his whole torso rising to a sitting position, and the Child of Light could do nothing but to sit up herself, and hold him against her. They allowed themselves these last moments of familiar comfort, reminiscent from the tenderness they've nurtured for each other since ever, and as Takeru wrapped his arms around her, she shivered, she knew what sort of twisted determination moved him to keep her safe this time. Hikari kissed the skin of his neck and then their embraced loosened, she crawled out of bed and in a slow movement she wore her dress once more. The young man just watched her.</p><p>In comfortable silence, Hikari walked to the dresser and mirror, carefully examining her tired, grayish appearance. How much of herself she had lost since the beginning of this nightmare, and how much was returned to her the previous night! She picked up the brush that laid there, carved from pale coral and embedded with pointy little spikes that hurt when she touched them, and slowly began untangling her hair.</p><p>In the meanwhile, Takeru lay back on the bed and observed her every move with wide eyes, savoring these figments of peace before a new battle. Arms crossed beneath his chin, he followed her with adoration and deep amazement, which did not go unnoticed by the young woman. From the corner of her eyes, she felt the young man's azure gaze wash upon her, and couldn't help but ask, amused, "What?"</p><p>And this time there was no space for 'nothing's or denials, no need to hide feelings or truths. Takeru merely smiled and admitted, "You're just really beautiful. And I'm stupid for not telling you that earlier."</p><p>There is really no good enough reply to complete bluntness, unmasked honesty, so Hikari just chuckled and went on brushing her hair. However, as she stared at the mirror, supervising her progress, the image that stared back at her seemed a little… off…</p><p>She noticed it was the bruise on her arm, the expression on her face. The Hikari in the mirror looked more hurt yet was grinning wider, but her smile was tainted by madness, despair, the promise of a hopeless ending. The Child of Light, face frowning with confusion, wanted to understand what was happening, try and see if was yet another mystery of the Dark Ocean to be solved, but all the while Takeru was getting up from the bed and heading her way, laying kind hands around her waist, burrowing his chin on the top of her head. Attention diverted by a gentle kiss upon that same spot, Hikari thought no more of her skewed reflection and allowed herself to fall in bliss once again.</p><p>Then, Takeru himself held the brush from her hand and determinately threaded the rest of her brown hair with it, his movements surprisingly knowing and gentle. When faced with Hikari's astonished expression (now matching the real thing) in the mirror, the young man laughed and kept going. "How do you think a young boy can make his straight-haired, overly-stressed mother relax after a taxing day of work? I've had years of practice, don't worry," he explained. And somehow the idea of a tiny Takeru brushing his mother's hair made the experience all the more endearing. He certainly proved his expertise: the whole process seemed to have done with a much softer, much friendlier brush in this boy's hands. She took a glance at their reflection together, and the image that hit her surprised her. How could the two of them look so stupidly, sillily happy together in such circumstances?</p><p>It was a clever idea to keep their desire at bay, but truth be told, both of them still craved for a time, a place where this step forward in their relationship would be much better explored, uninterrupted. If they were lucky now, if they handled well their delicate situation and managed to escape this palace (not even considering getting out of the Dark Ocean now), maybe they'd have a little more freedom, then it would be better...</p><p>However, already the time to prove themselves and break free was drawing near, and more signs of the surrounding darkness became evident. Little before his task was complete, Takeru's head was hit by a pang from inside, an acute yet strong headache that came completely unexpectedly and disfigured his happy expression into pain. He grunted, brought a hand to his forehead and Hikari looked up in worry.</p><p>"Headache…" he explained, managing half a smile. Through the mirror he then noticed tints of deep brownish red smeared all over the gold of his hair, remnants of his wonderful swim across the vermillion sea. "Probably Dark Ocean blood doing this… I'm sure it'll pass soon…"</p><p>But the young woman was having none of this: now was her time to help. She ran a hand through his hair thoughtfully and then went to find a large bowl of pure water near the dresser. She dragged it to a place where she'd have more space and sat on the floor beside it. Finally, she beckoned Takeru to come closer, who merely raised his eyebrows.</p><p>"If you think I'm just going to stand here and watch you hurt, you are seriously mistaken. Your problem, my problem. The Scubamon give me a bowl of water like this every day, and now I have quite a valid reason to use it."</p><p>There was no arguing with Hikari's determination (or any reason to do so, in any case), so the young man just chuckled and sat too, let his weary head be guided by gentle hands till his tainted locks of hair were damp with water. It was quite frightening to watch how fast the dirty color of that cursed blood spread across the clean transparency of the liquid, and as the young woman washed him, she wondered what might have happened to Takeru if they hadn't done this sooner. Yet his blue gaze was set on her all through her task, unworried, unconditionally trusting, and Hikari's heart and expression melt into a wide smile. And after his hair was just blonde again and not highlighted with red, she bent down to kiss his own smile, the arch of her body playfully revealing some of her skin beneath her dress.</p><p>They pulled back after a while, and when Hikari helped Takeru to her eye-level, hands once again clinging onto each other, a crucial question finally hit her, and she asked it with a chuckle, "How the <em>hell</em> did you get your hair like that anyway? Heck, how did you even get here? I was told so many lies, I think I deserve the truth now…"</p><p>Yes, after these hours of sanctuary, reality was quickly catching up to them… And it was overwhelming to see just how much they needed to share to get prepared for this upcoming challenge. Time always seemed to go by so fast, and Takeru almost panicked as he realized how much he had discovered in his lonely journey and Hikari still didn't know about…</p><p>"I swam here," he began, and motioned for the two of them to sit back on the bed, for his news were many and thoroughly important. "I mean, I tried to, at first, and that was how my hair got all bloody… I almost got you then, but I missed you for just a bit… I went back to the shore and this Scubamon was there… and she taught me how to use this…" he held his crest of Hope in his hands.</p><p>Kari was confused, "But… we've always known how to use our crests…"</p><p>"No, you don't understand, here in the Dark Ocean, <em>we</em>, not our Digimon, can use our crests in a much better way. Where is your crest? I need to teach you the words."</p><p>Her first reaction was to reach for a chain around her neck, and pull it from her dress. Her pink tag came into view and she held it. Takeru's hands covered hers as he looked at her most seriously, whispering what sounded like an ancient chant, "Mighty Light, give me the strength and I will give you deliverance and carry on…"</p><p>He repeated the words until Hikari knew them by heart, but she didn't speak them herself, as advised by Takeru, or she would transform right there and they needed to save the energy for when the time came.</p><p>"It is an awesome transformation! It brought me all the way here, untouched!" the Child of Hope assured anyway. "You would never imagine you could do so much with your crest, but frankly it's very tiring, so you have to be careful…"</p><p>At this, the young woman decided to ask, "So… you know what we're up against, right? And do you have any idea of what we're going to do after that?"</p><p>Takeru sighed, looking unbelievably unlike his hopeful self. "While I was finding my way to this room, I got to a library and it had some very useful insight… it was way more complete than the one at the ghost Scubamon village. I know the leader of these guys is a Dagomon. I hope he hasn't tried anything funny with you…" he frowned at this.</p><p>Hikari shook her head, but her expression mirrored the other man's. "No, but he was quite kind to me and had me convinced you were dead… I was about to give my power to him, whatever that means here… And then all I wanted to do was to beat him up and <em>run, </em>even if I didn't have a chance… I'm so glad you came and proved him wrong, and prevented me from doing something stupid… Still logic says he is the only choice, but now I'm not sure…" She thought of her own crest waking her up from Dagomon's control and how messed up their whole situation was. She thought, and her mind ran miles and miles, but the path was all tangled at messy, twisting on itself and ending up where it began.</p><p>"He isn't," the young man continued. "That same book that showed me there's a Dagomon here had the true prophecy in it. It said neither this guy nor the Scubamon were the proper receivers of your power. There must be something else… It said your own heart would tell you the truth…"</p><p>"But my heart is so confused right now…" Hikari sighed, burrowing her face in her hands. Takeru automatically moved closer, wrapped her frame in silent safety. Something tugged on his gut, begged for remembrance, a glorious epiphany, as if he already knew the answer but could not word it out… Unable to solve this immense turmoil, the young man opted for another path to consolation. He sighed too.</p><p>"Look, I'll tell you what we're going to do when we get out of here. The Scubamon who wrote this book I've told you about is the same one who taught me how to use our crests. An old lady called Penelope. We will find her, and she'll have to explain everything to us…"</p><p>Both held onto this frail hope, and Hikari actually relished in being told these optimistic words after so long. Her grip around Takeru's waist tightened, as she felt how much she really missed him in her own veins, her own bones. She needed him so, as he needed her back. Everything would be better with them back together…</p><p>In their last minutes of solace, the two Digidestined met in one last kiss, which dragged across all their senses and drained all the worry and despair away. It was empowering, intimate, ineffably <em>theirs, </em>itlocked them in one all-powerful unit of energy, ready to take on this world of darkness. Electricity ran through their bodies as they held each other together, fingertips pressing into skin, equal parts in a beautiful whole. And then, finally, heavy footsteps began pounding from outside.</p><p>Takeru and Hikari sighed as their lips parted, the young man brushing a tongue over his. They were considerably calmer and readier, and he muttered one final <em>everything will be alright</em> before kissing her left cheek and moving to hide under the bed. Still their hearts were pounding as the footsteps echoed closer. Still it took Hikari a while to compose herself and look perfectly miserable when she seemed to glow with hope now.</p><p>Then the door slowly opened.</p><p>The Dark Master entered unceremoniously, towering over the miniscule young woman with a most intrusive gaze. From beneath the bed, Takeru saw just how tall the monster stood, and for a moment all courage left him, only to come back redoubled when he spoke to Hikari, "I see you're in a good mood this morning, Chosen One. You even sat up from your bed!"</p><p>Dagomon's snarky tone disturbed her even further, to the point she could feel her façade slipping. His head was also turning left and right, as if looking for something he didn't quite wish to reveal just yet, tentacles probing the air in search of anything minimally suspicious. The Child of Light had a terrible feeling that perhaps their hopes weren't meant to succeed…</p><p>"I…" Hikari attempted eloquence. "I…" she failed. "I figured my previous attitude wouldn't lead me anywhere…"</p><p>The Dark Master made a low sound of agreement, and Hikari could see a horde of Black Gesomon gather beyond the massive door. That was definitively a bad sign and fear began brimming inside her. It only got worse when Dagomon's eyes landed on the water bowl, which was now half-filled with blood, and she could see his horrible grin grow and grow behind its frame of tentacles.</p><p>"Your water is tainted with blood, Chosen One. Are you hurt?" he asked. "Surely the maids can tend to your wounds…"</p><p>"T-there's no need to…" Kari stuttered, her disguise completely off. "I just cut my hand this night, but it was nothing too serious, and it's all healed now…"</p><p>But Dagomon was no longer listening to her. One of the tentacles making his arms extended to touch the surface of the bowl, and he slowly drew a single drop of dark blood to his mouth. A black, viscous tongue came to absorb the liquid and tast it, and immediately vicious, knowing eyes fixed on Hikari, his grin more hideous than ever. He <em>knew</em>.</p><p>"Well, I'm most sorry to inform you, but this is obviously not your blood, you wretched human!" the Dark Master roared, and before anyone else could move, another one of his tentacles had gone under the gigantic bed, ripping out a startled Takeru on the other end.</p><p>One second later and the young man was being crushed by a living ball of thread, Kari was terrified and powerless… Dagomon's other tentacles idly began smashing the room's decorations out of sheer anger, and the Gesomon were ready to start fighting as well.</p><p>"Are you really stupid enough to believe you'd have fooled me? Fool me with petty tricks of sorcery, when you should know who <em>I </em>am?" the monster growled once more, and the room trembled under the stain of a powerful, dark spell, crumbling all whiteness to black. "I will <em>kill </em>you!"</p><p>A living nightmare seemed to sprout from every wall, piece of furniture and decoration of the room, as Hikari tried to retain her sanity, find a way to get them both out of this dreadful situation. Blood and flesh scratched what had been the most sacred place of that hell so far, and all she could do was watch her lover, her best friend, being absorbed by the evil that tainted her life for so long…</p><p>But where Light is weak, Hope remains strong and shoulders its burden, rising in darkness to face the odds… So Takeru still struggled inside his living prison, pushing apart a narrow opening through the tentacles to shout, encouraging, ever determined, "You can do this, Kari! Use your crest, use your crest!"</p><p>Hikari was trembling, but her hands grabbed the chain around her neck once more and she was no longer powerless. She finally whispered the words she had learned not long before and immediately her own transformation took place…</p><p>A bright, colorful aura shone around her, warring with the Dark Master's magic. It shrunk and enveloped Hikari only to burst as her own pink wings sprang up and out, Angewomon's helmet shrouded her face with mystery, her body was overwhelmed with a wonderful supply of energy. She smiled, for now she knew what to do, now she understood they could do this, they could outwit Dagomon in his own palace.</p><p>And this time it was the Dark Master the one with no reaction when the young woman's light made Takeru's prison dissolve, and the two met with a short yet heartfelt embrace. Then the Child of Hope kissed her on her metal-covered forehead and morphed to his own angelical shape, before the Gesomon began marching in to aid their stunned leader.</p><p>"<em>What do we do know?"</em>Kari asked, and T.K. barely noticed she didn't even speak, her voice was in his head.</p><p>"<em>We get out!"</em> he replied in the same manner, and immediately his trusty shield was around the two of them, readying them for a clumsy, all-or-nothing escape.</p><p>Takeru and Hikari held onto each other's arms and flew out of the ruined room, dodging the attacks of the many Gesomon that moved before their unstoppable line of defense. They crashed through heavy doors and hard walls until they reached the main hall, but the young man was already panting from the effort.</p><p>In the meanwhile, guards and imprisoned maids alike flooded the space around them, covered the main door, blocking their ideal escape route. So, the despairing couple turned to the high ceiling above, and mustered all of their strength for their ultimate breakthrough, Gesomon and Bloodhunters biting at their heels…</p><p>The marble-like ceiling shattered under the impact of the Digidestined's willpower, and a waterfall of cursed blood promptly pushed its way inside, causing panic among the Scubamon there. They'd feel guilty later, knowing they caused suffering to those who had to deal with it every day, but for now they braved the Dark Ocean, almost tasting a much skewed sense of freedom as they aimed for the surface. But not all things were going as well as they could…</p><p>Hikari was at the end of her refilled energy, and as she receded back to the tired girl with the blood-stained white dress, Takeru held her and pushed even further up. On a grimmer note, Dagomon finally recovered from the attack dealt on him, and he was violently, furiously pushing through his army, following the fresh trail of the deserters. With no concern at all to the panic brewing in his main hall, he faced the hole in his palace ceiling and growled. In an impressive leap he was into the sea of blood as well, swimming seamlessly, much faster than anyone could ever hope to… He was catching up quickly…</p><p>The Digidestined broke through the surface and finally stepped on firm land (or sand), but Takeru's shield faded as he dragged himself and Hikari to the shore, flooding them with blood all over… He tried to move faster, for the shade and rumble of the Dark Master was upon them, ever so close, making the ocean his slave and pumping them with fear and urgency… But as the young man lift his wings and was just about to take flight, Dagomon was already there and a powerful tentacle was strangling Hikari's leg, pulling her back to the center of his domain…</p><p>The sudden change in force took the Child of Hope by surprise, but he was quick to recover, pull his lover harder, and throughout their tug-of-war it seemed that the measly human brat could surpass the strength of the colossal ruler of the Dark Ocean. His feet were buried deep on the sand and his wings helped him gain balance, but most of all it was his relentless determination that powered his form, his irrevocable promise to the young woman that everything would be alright…</p><p>It was with some pleasure that the young man noticed Dagomon getting worried, fearful of defeat, and he could hear someone else coming, a group of Scubamon, hopefully to help him. But unfortunately his luck was already past its prime… He kept on pulling and Kari started biting down on the tentacle restraining her, but Dagomon was now angrily resorting to dark magic once more, and the young man's head ached terribly under his spell.</p><p>Nonetheless, his efforts were not diminished in the least, but he must have unwillingly emitted some sound of hurt or discomfort, for Hikari could tell he was in pain. "He's hurting you, T.K... It's not worth it…"</p><p>But Takeru growled back, "I don't care! I won't lose you again, I won't make the same mistake…" and he courageously held on, steady as a rock…</p><p>However, the Scubamon that were fumbling to get to him proved to be less than helpful, as they suddenly stabbed the Child of Hope's legs with their sharp harpoons, endangering not his resolve but his physical strength. He knew he wouldn't let Hikari go, but his wings and body were tired, the energy that maintained his form was running out. But even with his frustration towards the Scubamon, Takeru wouldn't give up…</p><p>Dagomon was surprisingly showing signs of despair, and so were the other marine Digimon, after the young man continuously endured progressively darker and edgier attacks, with stabbing blades, dark sorcery and whipping tentacles… So they were forced to resort to completely drastic measures…</p><p>One of the Scubamon aimed for the Child of Hope's neck and shot his harpoon, barely missing the skin and flesh, but severing the chain that held the crest of Hope, his source of power. Takeru immediately fell back on the sand, irrevocably human, exhausted and defeated, powerlessly watching his Hikari slip between his hands and dive into the dark ocean again, taken by a fleeing Dagomon…</p><p>The young man was promptly invaded by sheer anger, as well as frustration and guilt. How could he let this happen, how could he send her back knowing that Dagomon would be hurting her so much this time? How could he make the same mistake twice? Enraged, he scrambled up and turned to the retreating Scubamon, closing his fists to try and control himself, "Why the fuck did you do that? Do you have any idea of what that monster is going to do to her? Wasn't her your fucking <em>Queen</em>?" It had been a while since he'd been angry enough to swear at someone, but his wrath did not fade, it boiled inside him, making him breathe in despaired pants.</p><p>But the Scubamon that had thrown the harpoon, apparently that group's leader, just picked up the fallen crest and returned it, unthreatened by the young man's behavior, saying, "If you had been thinking clearly, you would have let go of her sooner. Did you really think you'd be safe and free if you had won this stupid tug-of-war of yours? No, you have no idea of how powerful the Dark Master really is… If you had crossed His path one more time, He would have killed us all just to take the Chosen One!"</p><p>Takeru was about to retort that losing his life would have been worth the prize, but the Scubamon carried on, "We need to be alive to bring her back, and our Sage would be furious if we didn't bring <em>you</em> back alive! Besides, Dagomon won't kill her, he needs her, and we both know she won't succumb to his will… By letting her go, you have saved us all…"</p><p>"He might not kill her, but he's sure going to hurt her more than anything you and I can imagine!" the young man still yelled back, broken, despaired, <em>angry.</em> "I can't let that happen, I can't let him harm her, I can't…"</p><p>"Oh, but you can, and you will," the leader spoke, a perfect picture of sternness and severity. "The best path is not always the easiest, but the Chosen One is strong of heart. You, above all people, should believe in her capacities, and it's because of that we need your Hope."</p><p>There were no words left in Takeru to reply to the other, but he still lingered his gaze on the ocean of blood, feeling older, more tired and lonelier than ever. Flashes of the horrors his Hikari would suffer burned painfully on his imagination, and it took every ounce of self-control he had not to throw himself into the sea again and just rationally agree that the Scubamon had a wise, better plan than his.</p><p>After a while, the leader pushed his legs forward and the group headed back into the dead forest, as if nothing had happened at all… Takeru just took once last glance at the crest in his hands, before squeezing it hard and thinking, <em>"I really hope she will be alright…"</em></p><p>Then he followed the leader into the dark and the unknown, astounded at how everything changed in these few, miserable hours…</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>[original notes, may 2011]</p><p>SO… I'll just start by saying I'm very sorry for the step backwards, but the way the plot flows is necessary for the story to make sense, and I know you'll be frustrated, but T.K. is too and it'll all be better for you in a few chapters!</p><p>Another thing I'm sorry is for the two stupid years it took for me to get back on my feet and update this, my own original ideas have been forming and taking up a lot of my time, and college and other family matters sucked the tiny rest that was left… My past two years have been little drabbles and oneshots here and there (many of them Takari), and it's shameful. But I think I've gotten my muse back and feel capable of handling everything once again… I want to thank everyone who's still supported me even through this absence, thank you for all the lovely messages and encouragement to write on :)</p><p>One thing that's been funny to do is look through the old notes I have for this story and how I keep the basic idea but have to rewrite most of it, because I feel I have grown up as a person, and as a storyteller. I hope you can feel that in this chapter too…</p><p>I think that is all, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Those who still read this after all this time are my personal heroes and muses, and I really can't express how thankful I am to see this story still so cherished!</p><p>Thank you all, and see you next chapter!</p><p>kathlaida-princess logging out…</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. THE LOST GODS</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>We are now up to date!!</p><p>Hello, dearest readers, whether you've been following this beautiful mess since its inception or are now curious to see what it's all about! This is happening, and I appreciate everyone who messaged saying that they'd love to keep on reading - I definitely did not expect such a response within an hour of posting the update, but I am so grateful and inspired ;w;</p><p>A few notes before the usual review replies and the chapter itself!</p><p>At 28 years old, I am literally double the age now that I was when I started writing this - that's fucking bonkers. I still have the notepad with my first full plans for this story SOMEWHERE, but my life has gone through so much since and I've moved across the ocean to live with the literal love of my life, so I don't have access to it anymore. This means that I had to reread this whole thing to reconstruct the remaining seven chapters, and while a lot of it was kind of embarrassing and error-riddled, I'm still proud of the heart and the plot of it, and it was amazing how fast I just remembered everything as I pieced all of it together.</p><p>The nostalgia for this fic hit when I suggested my partner and I watched the first couple of seasons of Digimon while in quarantine, since they never had the chance to. We actually got to watch all of Tri too (I know reviews on that are kinda mixed, but I did like it a lot even if I'm sad we didn't get any time with the 02 kids and I didn't really like the new Digimon + kid - the characterization of all characters was so good and full of heart)! My partner became super attached to Takari in the process (duh!), which led us to unearth this and I was like, "I'm gonna write an update, and if literally just one person is still waiting for this I WILL finish it", so here we are!</p><p>I am super excited to be doing this again, so here's to seven more chapters!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>CHAPTER </strong>
  <strong>16</strong>
  <br/>
  <strong>THE LOST GODS</strong>
</p><p>Candy and take out food wrapper rustling was the only note chiming across the spacious bedroom as a waddling Tentomon distributed a bounty of treats to an eager crowd of peers. They consumed the high-calorie-fast-sugar-high-crash-inducing feast as if it were the very first thing they've ever eaten in their lives, depleting the stock as fast as water spilling from joint hands.</p><p>Joe and Gatomon, ever the pinnacles of reason and practicality, simply hung their heads and sighed. So much for equally sharing the spoils of Koushiro's valiant convenience store run.</p><p>Yet he man himself sat cross-legged on the carpet, wholly oblivious to the slaughter of his rations as he conversed with the codes and scripts of his laptop, eyebrows furrowed.</p><p>It had been a long time since the DigiDestined had gathered like this. Even throughout the vast expanse of summer vacation freedom, it seemed that mundane, almost boring daily life had grabbed a clammy hold of even those who had felled digital monstrosities in the name of saving the world.</p><p>These days, Joe still raged against bitter nights of studying for university finals armed with motivational posters and defeated bags under his eyes. Gomamon, ever reliable, fared way better in his battle against his partner's stubbornness, dragging him away from books and syllabuses and into bed, near force-feeding him at times, much to his chagrin.</p><p>Mimi and Palmon, finally re-settled in their old home and lives, were actually already at the unofficial Digidestined headquarters when Patamon and Gatomon rushed to Koushiro's for help. Enthralled with the concept of creating her own brand of crafts and accessories to allow others to find their inner "cuties" online, Mimi had become a master of delegating logistics onto both Koushiro and her partner Digimon, proficient in fine website coding and fast packaging, respectively. This meant she ended up spending most of her waking time at his friend's, spoiled rotten by both his timid niceness and his mom's delight at seeing Koushiro nurture such a close friendship. By now, two whole folders in Mimi's phone were dedicated to adorable baby pictures of Koushiro that his mom had shared, much to his embarrassed dismay.</p><p>Iori and Miyako mostly shared Joe's routine of warring the last sighs of their school year. However, knowing that the main subject of the meeting would be Takeru and Hikari and given the urgency of it all, all that was left in their expressions was concern for two friends who had always seemed infallible.</p><p>Ken mirrored a graver version of that same expression, and even if he was unaware of how and why his companions were in danger, the knot in his gut pulsed, murmured of known dark grim places where he once dreaded to get lost in as well. Daisuke was caught up in his need to perform his vocal and bellowing concern for Hikari, but truth was, as much as he was genuinely hoping that both her and (God forbid) Takeru would turn up safe somewhere, right now, his focus zeroed on Ken, the familiar empty whirlwind taking over his eyes.</p><p>Their Digimon, however, were occupied with the sole objective of draining their host of his welcoming food, competing with all the others on who could get the new tastiest snack.</p><p>All Koushiro could do was sit alongside two very worried Patamon and Gatomon. Waiting for everyone else to settle in, his fingers gripped at his knees tighter and tighter as casual conversation thrived between his friends, happy to catch up on their lives in their heavy absence. Even his mother, albeit well-intentioned, contributed to the raw chaos of the situation, coming into the bedroom right on the cusp of food oblivion only to refill the stock with homemade goodies.</p><p>Order did eventually fall over the room like a silencing blanket, when the combined anxiety exuding from Patamon, Gatomon and Koushiro bled into Ken's expression and Daisuke understood at last that he must be vocal about this the most.</p><p>"OKAY, EVERYONE, LET'S ALL CHILL OUT AND SHUT UP," his voice boomed and all the Digimon instantly ceased to move, mouths full, eyes wide. Daisuke sighed and continued, "Sorry for doing that all of a sudden but... this isn't some chatter party! We're all here because our friends are in danger and it's..." he couldn't help but quickly glance at Ken, "it's really affecting some of us too..."</p><p>Order weighed more like guilt as Daisuke's words seeped into the group. Ken visibly recoiled, his gaze lost somewhere inside himself. Digimon and humans alike hung their heads in growing shame, but the Digimon were quick to swarm Patamon and Gatomon in tender apologies. Neither of them were upset at them at all, of course, nuzzling them back in grateful acknowledgement and compassion.</p><p>"We really don't mean to bring everyone down, guys!" Patamon started. "It's just we are really worried someone might have taken Takeru and Hikari and..." his face drooped, "... we're not there to protect our partners."</p><p>Gatomon nodded, ears lowered and eyes following right after. "All we know is that Takeru came to see us some weeks back, asking if there were any signs of trouble and... one of his suspicions was that the Dark Ocean was calling for Hikari again."</p><p>Past the weight of order and guilt, the two words seemed to crawl like a glacier over the whole group. Ken visibly recoiled, expression pulling into a frown, at least until Daisuke tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder.</p><p>"I'm so sorry..." Ken's voice came, barely above a murmur. "If I hadn't fed so much darkness into it, maybe the Dark Ocean would have never found Hikari or put her in danger. It feels as if no matter how hard I work and how many things I do to make amends for my past, there's always <em>something</em> that slips by. I'm sorry, I-"</p><p>But he was interrupted by Daisuke's hand giving his shoulder a squeeze. "Ken... I know it's hard to remind yourself of this and I get it that there was so much hurt that came from you being the Emperor... but you were just another victim in the middle of all this too. We all know who was responsible. We all... care a lot about you and would never let you have to handle this by yourself."</p><p>This earned him a small smile from Ken, which seemed to light up the faces of everyone else in the group.</p><p>Empowered to start sharing his plan, Koushiro knelt up and spoke, "It's true! We are going to help our friends out of wherever these things have taken them, and even if we are kinda scattered and moments like these are becoming more and more rare, we are stronger when we are together and we can always count on each other! Although, this time around I am kinda glad Taichi and Yamato aren't here to have to deal with all this..." he added in a more sheepish tone.</p><p>The Digimon, already forgetting the negative feelings that came with the mention of the Dark Ocean, immediately became excitable at the prospect of a new adventure, raising their little hands and claws in the air. "Tell us your plan! Tell us your plan!"</p><p>Koushiro smiled wider, turning his laptop to the rest of the group. "For now, I think it's best we split into groups and cover more ground that way. Remember, we can't discard the hypothesis that they <em>might</em> be in the Digital World! So, Joe, Iori and Miyako, please message our DigiDestined friends to see if they know anything about new dangers, and go in there to check it out yourselves. I will be emailing Gennai and checking the data on the Digi Gate openings and closures - I'll update you if I find something weird. I want Patamon and Gatomon to stay with me while we gather all this information, that way it will be easier to send them to the right place once we find Hikari and Takeru. Ken, I... understand that this is a big favor to ask, but I need you to try and think of ways the Dark Ocean might still use to reach us."</p><p>Before Ken could even open his mouth to reply, fear in his eyes, Daisuke was already booming, "That's not fair, you know how much this stuff affects him! There has to be another way!" But Ken simply tugged at Daisuke's sleeve.</p><p>"It's okay," he said, even if he didn't sound very convincing. "I am the only one here who's ever been there out of my own choice. I want to help Hikari and Takeru."</p><p>And Daisuke was about to just cross his arms and pout when he added, "Well, then I'm coming with you! No buts!"</p><p>Koushiro sighed once again, "You didn't let me finish, Daisuke. I <em>was</em> going to suggest you accompany Ken in this quest, since the Dark Ocean is dangerous and unpredictable. So this works out well! Finally, Mimi, I-"</p><p>"I am not going anywhere!" she immediately piped up, just as brash as Daisuke. "Are you planning on sitting on your butt and gluing your eyes to this computer while gobbling oolong tea for the next three days? Absolutely not, you are a valued member of this team and you WILL be looked after. I'm staying!" Koushiro sighed amidst poorly-stifled giggles from the rest of the group.</p><p>Resolute in their assigned roles, the DigiDestined enjoyed only a few more minutes to obliterate the rest of Koushiro's hospitality before they began this new quest. Gatomon and Patamon now sat more relieved alongside Tentomon, eager to help on demand too as Koushiro cracked open the first bottle of oolong tea under Mimi's stern gaze.</p><p>As they moved outside, small Digimon in their arms, Daisuke mirrored the intensity of Mimi's gaze, shrouded in concern, targeting Ken instead. His friend seemed to have been taken to a very dark place already, and Daisuke cursed his own hesitation to reach for his shoulder once again while he followed Ken home.</p><hr/><p>Curtains of sour bubbles erupted like molten rock around the writhing mass of tentacles and captive girl, determined to sink to the bottom of the blood ocean. Even as Dagomon's reach and sheer strength far exceeded Hikari's, she refused to remain motionless and demure, to allow the monster to drag her deeper, to extinguish the golden flame of hope bursting from her heart.</p><p>So close to her, beyond the surface of this cursed pool, she knew her Takeru to be <em>alive</em> and to <em>love her</em> more than anything in this world. Lifting the veil of timid insecurity around the terms of their relationship was long overdue, and had filled her with an inner certainty she could not put in words, sheer resolution on who she was, what she was capable of, why she would not give in. Her heart drummed with invincibility, arms and legs flailing away from her captor like a row of tidal waves against a cliff, raging, raging against the dying of the light inside her.</p><p>Even as Dagomon summoned more of his minions to engulf her deeper in tentacles.</p><p>Even as the air kept vanishing in new streams of yelling bubbles, leaving burning pockets in her lungs.</p><p>Even as the surface rose further and further beyond her reach, and her eyes singed trying to see even the vaguest wisps of non-sunlight through the mass of cursed blood.</p><p>Hikari's determination had slowed Dagomon's progress to a crawl, and his anger was loud and pulsing, in tight pinches around her, in violent lashes from massive tentacles. Yet the monster still successfully abducted her back into his palace, through the hole her and Takeru had pierced in their escape attempt. Dagomon bellowed orders at the Gesomon to get the breach fixed immediately as the servant Scubamon scurried every elsewhere in a panic.</p><p>Out of the ocean, Hikari managed to fight to plant both her feet firmly on the coral floor, nails and teeth now sinking into Dagomon's flesh. Unfortunately, he proved to be more impervious to these attacks than his underlings, instead slithering his entire body up to the Queen's Room and then tugging at Hikari's stand in full force. Her knees buckled, her weight giving away to the sheer pull of the Dark Ocean sovereign's tentacles, and she was dragged back to her prison faster than she could have struggled any further.</p><p>Yet her heart still shone in shades of pink and gold.</p><p>She would <em>never</em> give up again. On Takeru, on <em>herself.</em> She would not be held back or captive here, in this dismal place where all light faded.</p><p>In a last, desperate surge of energy, her Crest glowed and she held it in her hands, reciting the incantation as easy as breathing.</p><p>And immediately her body was transforming, glowing in white flashes as the angel emerged from the girl.</p><p>And immediately Dagomon reacted, striking, felling and shattering the Crest from around Hikari's neck in one fell swoop.</p><p>The young woman tumbled to her knees, arms and legs shaking from the sudden drain of the last of her energy. Her eyes, wide and frantic, could not see beyond the tragedy of her own actions, the horrible fate her carelessness had brought upon herself. She barely noticed Dagomon retracting his whole body from the Queen's Room, slamming the towering doors on her prison.</p><p>The walls, decaying and putrid in all the loss of their glamour, seemed to almost creep towards Hikari, insignificant in their middle.</p><p>Dagomon would not physically harm her while he still needed her, yet his palace hungered for something that was hers alone all the same, and did not have the same inhibitions as its master.</p><p>A single drop of blood crawled from the ceiling, dropping with a heavy, echoing sound on a pool of its kin at Hikari's hands.</p><hr/><p>Still following behind the weary group of Scubamon at a grueling pace, Takeru struggled between attempting to turn back and run towards the beach once again, or allowing his temper to rekindle and rush the poor exhausted Digimon forward. His heart thrummed with ached panic and yearning, anxiety prickling at his skin for letting go of his Hikari - his whole body felt off and <em>wrong</em> for pressing further in the opposite direction from her. This primal inner crisis was directly wholly at himself, shifting between states of anguish and anger that he hadn't been strong enough to save her.</p><p>Yet he'd look at the Crest cradled in his hands and he'd see how it still glowed brilliant in shades of pink and gold and he'd chastise himself for being so stupid. True, together they were invincible, but that didn't mean that they weren't a force to be reckoned with by themselves. Besides, now that the truth of their love had been fully cemented around their hearts, were they ever truly alone anymore?</p><p>So against all odds Takeru hoped for the best, he thought of Hikari and believed her will and strength to be insurmountable, and he allowed a smile to bloom on his face.</p><p>And even if the Scubamon were malnourished and sluggish, it almost seemed as if Takeru's change of heart had seeped into their own pace, bringing a spring to their steps, a second wind to guide them home safe and sound.</p><p>At first, Takeru didn't even quite realize they had arrived at the last standing Scubamon village. Eroded rust-stained stone buildings crawled up disjointed and uneven from the barren ground, most of them barely as tall as the surrounding decrepit trees. The few dozen houses seemed to be wholly vacant until the leader of the travelling group hit the ground with his harpoon a few times. After a couple of seconds of sheer silence, silhouettes began emerging from the houses, tentative and timid, immediately aware of the stranger among the new arrivals.</p><p>The warriors began to disperse, to greet the children and elderly waiting for them, but some still remained awkwardly close to Takeru, distrust engaging curiosity in a battle inside their eyes. This soon spread in a wave of whispers from the rest of the village, slowly but relentlessly swarming around Takeru in quiet yet despaired pleas. Seeing them like this, he couldn't help but feel pity for the Digimon, as well as guilty for the way he had treated them before, when Hikari's safety was still at risk at their hands.</p><p>Some of them startled when Takeru moved to crouch, his hands going in his tattered filthy rucksack to retrieve a few objects - canned food that he'd taken from the palace previously and now set before him on the ground. "I am sorry for the trouble I have caused to your people," he spoke up, standing straight once more. "I'm also sorry I don't have more to give, but I figured anything would help anyway. Enjoy!"</p><p>It didn't take long for the aura surrounding the whole village to shift entirely, fear turning to immediate revelry. Homemaking Scubamon scurried to gather all the cans and sweep them onto a communal kitchen cabin, lingering a promise of a feast before nightfall. The excitement from the grownups soon reached the children as well, and Takeru wondered how long it had been since they'd experienced this much joy. A young Otamamon in particular seemed particular curious, eager to greet this stranger in their own way. All of a sudden, Takeru's hands were held by the tadpole-like Digimon and he was given a shiny rock, a token Takeru took as gratitude.</p><p>The young man was glad to just stand there and watch the flickers of light brighten up the village's day, the ecstatic mayhem to make good use of the blessed gifted resources. However, he soon noticed Penelope and the Boss exiting the biggest house up ahead, and the way they beckoned for him was telling of grimmer subjects to come. Takeru left the bulk of the Scubamon to enjoy the food, and the small Otamamon who was sad to see him go, and followed the leaders into their house - just as decrepit as the rest, but slightly bigger.</p><p>The sage was smiling up at him, both hands holding onto her carved cane-harpoon, as if she could peer deep into Takeru's soul and spot something that had changed while he was gone. The Boss, however, looked as disgruntled and cranky as always, brows furrowing as he grumbled for the boy to sit with them. "Let it be known that I am still not sold in this arrangement," he started, his gruff voice only accentuating his displeasure. "If it were up to me, the Chosen One would have granted me her pow-"</p><p>Penelope did not hesitate to whack him across the head with her cane, silencing him without a single complaint. "Enough of that! We are here to set things right at last, and we only have so much time to be petty and throw useless tantrums." She then turned to Takeru, "I believe your trip down to the palace was useful, boy?"</p><p>Takeru nodded. He recounted his time in Dagomon's lair as swiftly as he could, while trying not to leave out any important details. The labyrinthine corridors, the guards, a timid remark about being with Hikari and... "... I found a book about the true prophecy. It was written on it, and <em>you </em>were listed as the author, Penelope. I need to know, why didn't you tell us about the true prophecy sooner? What else do you know and why... why did I have to leave Hikari behind again!" He tried his best to remain calm, the last thing he wanted was to disrupt this rare moment of peace and prosperity for the Scubamon. But once again images of the love of his life, hurt and torn, flashed before his eyes, and it took all he had to keep grasping at his Crest, to allow his Hope to rekindle. He took deep breaths and Penelope lowered her head.</p><p>"I... understand the hurt you are going through, and I resent the trouble that I have caused you," she admitted. "I believe now is the right time for you to learn the full truth. Both the Child of Light and you are ready for the last of your challenges."</p><p>She closed her eyes and rested her chin on her hands over the hilt of her cane. Right now, to Takeru, she looked impossibly frail and exhausted. Yet her voice came, calm and resolute.</p><p>"Before our home turned into this nightmare and our Lord still watched over us, generous and fair, I was served him as a Sage in the palace. The First Guard, hailed and trusted by Him and all His subjects, were appointed to protect the palace and the Lord as much as they were to protect <em>me</em>.</p><p>"You see, before Dagomon darkened and began demanding worship from His subjects as a God, the Shimmering Ocean was protected by its own true deities, and every Digimon living here cherished and thanked their blessings. As the Sage, it was my devoted duty to listen to their messages, heed their warnings and guide us away from the dangers they foretold. I was never able to see them, and any remnants of their images are likely tattered and lost to time past way before mine. All the same, I was able to serve them, up to the moment they imparted me with a terrible prophecy.</p><p>"The words I wrote in the book you found were part of it, but not all. <em>When shadows befall this place, Light will come and it will find itself in a hopeless situation. Still, it will find the hope in its heart and hope will give it the right answer. Follow your heart, find the answer.</em></p><p>"The deities were not aware of what sort of shadows would befall this place, but they knew they would overcome our Lord. Because they were Gods of Hope and Gods of Light, they knew that they would be targeted, and they knew that we would need to call upon you, the holders of the Crests of Light and Hope, to deliver us. They knew that Dagomon would unavoidably trap the Chosen One, and so they warned me to be prepared, to arrange for shelters for our true deities, as well as safe channels for them to meet you.</p><p>"I relayed this prophecy to Dagomon, and although saddened to learn He would play an unforgivable role in the coming catastrophe, He immediately agreed in our haste for preparations. His only demand was that I would not tell Him where and how the Deities would be sheltered, and how I was planning on hiding the Chosen One's escape route.</p><p>"He requested to be bound in His throne room so that he would not compromise the true prophecy, and for the palace to be evacuated so that he would not be able to harm any of his servants, but sadly it was too late. The Darkness arrived so quickly, so suddenly, and some Scubamon of the First Guard managed to aid my escape after the preparations in the Queen's Room were ready.</p><p>"Unfortunately, I was not able to prepare shelters in the forest, but the deities' Hope leads me to believe they have found them all the same.</p><p>"I do not recall how long has passed since that dreadful day. Decades feel like centuries, and a century hurts like millennia when you witness your beloved leader fiercely unmake all the wonders He had worked so hard to build in the past. I have watched the sun die, the forests wither, the ocean blacken and my people diminish. We are on the brink of oblivion, and I understand how my companion here is so eager to believe he must be the one to take the Chosen One's power, I understand why he is so reluctant to trust foreigners to this world when it was a foreign force who created the monster he knows to hurt us all. But he is too young to know better, and the truth must not be hidden out of fear any longer."</p><p>Trying to keep himself afloat in this sea of information and expectations, Takeru held his head in his hands and heaved a long sigh. "But I still don't know what to do! How are we supposed to help? How can we ever find your lost gods?"</p><p>His words were touched by despair, which made Takeru startle when he heard Penelope's coarse chuckle. "Child, you have been following the true prophecy all along, by following your heart. Remember, our gods are of Light and Hope, related to the Crests you carry. You followed your heart to Hikari's, and I understand that was enough for an important... exchange to take place."</p><p>Takeru couldn't believe how much he was blushing right now. Yet he continued, "But then why did I have to leave her behind? There is nothing else I want more in the world than for Hikari to be here safe with me."</p><p>Penelope nodded, "This is true, but what is your heart telling you?"</p><p>He recalled his inner struggles on the way to the village, how torn he felt between leaving the beach and pressing ahead, and what his Hope had given him as reassurance, "... That she is strong enough. That we're never truly alone, not really. That I have to have faith in her."</p><p>And Penelope nodded again, a small smile on her face. "Precisely! The Child of Light had to stay behind because only now is she ready for the task ahead of her. And the fact that you stand here before me, swearing on her strength and perseverance, is only proof that she will succeed. Plus, you have your own paramount task to accomplish."</p><p>Takeru stilled for a few moments, before he let out a murmur, "Hikari has to find the Light where you hid it, inside the palace! ... And I have to find the shelter of the Gods of Hope, in the forest."</p><p>Penelope's wider smile served to confirm his right answer, but did not offer much in terms of further reassurance. They had been scouring these woods ever since their arrival, to no avail. Penelope herself, knowing the full extent of the true prophecy, had not been able to locate the gods or any of their own shelters. How could he ever find them in such short time? Takeru still felt like he was forgetting something, some small epiphany that would bring the whole solution to the front of his mind, but no matter how much he tried to remember, it kept slipping away from his grasp.</p><p>He did, however, remember <em>something</em>: "The ruined library books!" he started. "When we first started looking for a way out of here, Hikari and I took as many books as possible from one of your ruined villages. We didn't find anything about a prophecy back then, but I keep feeling like all of this is so familiar, and I wonder if I saw something about it in one of those books... We... lost them when the Bloodhunters came after us and drove us to the ocean. But the books should still be there, in that campsite."</p><p>Penelope hummed. "It all happened so fast, how Dagomon attacked all our villages. It might be, that some sort of imagery remains, left forgotten in these ruins you speak of, and if it is what your heart is telling you, then you must trust it."</p><p>The Boss, deciding at last that his punishment of silence was over, hit the stony floor with the end of his harpoon and stood up at once. "I won't risk the warriors, but I will come with you! Your skinny ass needs all the help it can get against those disgusting Bloodhunters and I... I want to make amends for how I treated you in the past."</p><p>This made both Takeru and Penelope smile, which in turn only flustered the warrior. Driven by the urgency of the mission, they decided to skip the feast and the Boss went as far as to ask the Sage to save them some leftovers for their return. Even if Takeru had just arrived, rest was the last thing on his mind as he considered the journey ahead. His heart burned with certainty that he'd do anything and he'd find something that would help his Hikari's safety, and that was all that mattered to him.</p><p>Takeru and the Boss stole away in the middle of the feast, packing nothing but meager provisions and kindle. No one was none the wiser of their absence, or so they thought...</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>OH MY GOD, it is DONE! IT IS FINISHED! The comeback chapter is HERE 8D</p><p>I just want to see how much fun it was to write for the sake of it, not worrying too much about making everything perfect and postponing it further and STILL pouring all of my heart into this. Digimon is still very much a very big comfort fandom to me, and revisiting these characters and their stories is wonderful.</p><p>I will be crossposting this fic to AO3 from now on too (I'm dreamyemptysouls there!), where I will likely add some illustrations and build a fanmix. For now, my random song rec for Takari is 'Out of my League' by Fitz and the Tantrums! You can also follow me on twitter (postponedmovies) or add me on discord (somniari#9496)!</p><p>See you again soon!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>[ending notes, originally written in april 2006]</p>
<p>He, he… My first Takari fic, and probably the best fic I'll ever write in my life!</p>
<p>I wanted to write this a long time ago, but I was afraid I'd stop updating my other fic, which didn't happen! So, for those who were wondering why a Takari lover was writing a fic about a clumsy Lugia, I have to tell you it was because I was still brewing this fic!</p>
<p>Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, which is the first of many, and I surely hope that you'll R-E-V-I-E-W! Because if you do, you can decide the second couple of this fic! Please review and vote! Should this fic be a Taiora (Tai + Sora), a Sorato (Matt + Sora), or a Taito (Tai + Matt)? Reviewers' decision!</p>
<p>"Friends, the Movie"… Wouldn't it be great? In case you didn't notice, that creation of mine and the part where T.K. and Kari say "I'll be there for you, like I've been there before" were both based on that wonderful TV show that still fills my heart with joy!</p>
<p>I have to say that I was quite inspired by the Evanescence album "Fallen". The song lyrics at the beginning of the chapter is from one of its songs, "Haunted".</p>
<p>Well, I guess I'm not that good at author's notes, but please review and vote, and see ya next chapter! While you're waiting, you can always check out my other fic, The Girl and the Lugia.</p>
<p>kathlaida-princess logging out…</p></blockquote></div></div>
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